DOJ demands Minnesota records on same-day voter registration practices

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said Minnesota's vouching system for same-day voter registration appears "facially inconsistent" with federal law.

By
Jenna Gloeb
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Left: Secretary of State Steve Simon/Minnesota Secretary of State's Office; Right: Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon/Department of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday demanded records from Minnesota’s secretary of state related to the state’s same-day voter registration practices, citing concerns that Minnesota’s “vouching” system may violate federal election law.

In a letter dated Jan. 2, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon requested documents connected to same-day voter registrations during the March 5, 2024, presidential primary and the Nov. 5, 2024, general election.

“The basis and purpose of this demand is to ensure Minnesota’s registration and voting practices are in compliance with federal law,” Dhillon wrote in the letter.

Minnesota’s vouching system allows a registered voter to vouch for up to eight other voters while employees of residential facilities may vouch for an unlimited number of residents.

Dhillon’s request seeks all records supporting same-day voter registrations authorized under Minnesota Statutes 201.061, Subdivision 3, including those involving the state’s vouching provision, which allows a registered voter to attest to another voter’s residence.

Dhillon said the request was made under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and raised concerns about Minnesota’s compliance with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).

In a post on X, Dhillon said Minnesota’s vouching system for same-day voter registration appears “facially inconsistent” with that law.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon has 15 days to provide the records in complete, digital and unredacted form through the Justice Department’s secure file transfer system.

The DOJ’s request follows heightened scrutiny of Minnesota’s election practices from conservative activists, including Scott Presler, who has recently highlighted the vouching system on social media as a potential vulnerability.

In a series of social media posts, Presler shared vouching forms and urged public records requests to uncover voting patterns.

“Did you know that in 2008 more than 500,000 voters — or nearly 19% of all voters in Minnesota — registered on Election Day? Did you know that former Senator Al Franken was elected by 312 votes?” Presler posted.

“I Repeat: Minnesota has same day voter registration. 1 registered voter can vouch for up to 8 others (who don’t have an ID),” he wrote in another.

That post was shared by Elon Musk, who commented: “Made for fraud.”

Simon, a Democrat, addressed concerns with the law in a recent MPR interview, claiming it “provides two layers, not the usual one, of security” and is “actually more secure than what other states have.”

“To register to vote in Minnesota, you need to show two things: You are who you say you are — that’s identity. And you live where you say you live — that’s residence. What you use a vouching for is really the residence part. That’s where it’s used most commonly,” he told the outlet.

According to Simon, vouching “isn’t used that often” and was used “0.6 or 0.7 percent of the time” in the last election.

“To hear some of the criticism you’re hearing from Elon Musk and others, they don’t know what it is,” Simon argued. “They hear the term and they jump to all sorts of conclusions. That’s not how it works in Minnesota.”

Prior DOJ request for full Minnesota voter data 

In 2025, the DOJ asked Simon’s office for Minnesota’s complete statewide voter registration list to assess compliance with federal voter-list maintenance laws.

Simon declined to turn over that detailed data, citing state and federal privacy protections. “That list contains sensitive personal identifying information on several million individuals,” his office wrote.

As a result, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Simon, arguing that the U.S. attorney general is charged by Congress with enforcing HAVA and the National Voter Registration Act, which require states to have “proper and effective voter registration and voter list maintenance programs.”

Simon’s office moved to dismiss the case last month, with a hearing scheduled for early March.

 

Jenna Gloeb
Website

Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.

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