“All eligible voters are encouraged to vote from home,” states a letter sent to every registered voter in Minnesota who has not already requested an absentee ballot.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon announced the new mailing campaign in a press release issued Wednesday, noting that the letter sent out by his office also includes an absentee ballot application.
“Minnesotans are working together to stay safe and keep each other healthy. In 2020 that means voting from home!” says the letter.
Simon called voting from home a “public service” because every person “who votes from home is making the polling place a little bit safer for voters who need or prefer to vote in person.”
“During a pandemic, we have to view this election as a public health challenge,” said Simon. “This mailing is all about making sure Minnesota voters know that voting from home is easy, safe, and secure.”
The letter was sent to the 2.3 million registered voters who have not requested an absentee ballot, an effort that was funded by Minnesota’s share of the federal CARES Act.
As of Friday, 926,000 Minnesota voters had requested an absentee ballot to vote from home in the general election. Friday also marked the first day of Minnesota’s 46-day period of absentee voting leading up to Election Day.
“The spirit that makes Minnesota the national leader in voter turnout is stronger than ever in this difficult year. I’m expecting the already large demand for voting from home to continue through to Election Day,” Simon said Friday. “I’m recommending that all voters request — and return — their ballots as soon as possible to help local officials process and count all of those ballots.”
Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said it’s “disconcerting that Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon is using $1.2 million of taxpayer dollars to scheme and confuse voters about the voting laws that exist in Minnesota.”
“Because the Democrats failed in their quest of universal vote by mail, now they are using the SOS office to try and game the system,” she added.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
