A woman running for Minnesota Secretary of State is proposing a few changes to the state Republican Party platform.
In a Tuesday email to supporters Kim Crockett linked to her “Eyes on Every Ballot Resolution,” which proposes to rid elections of what she calls “Zuckerbucks” and achieve a greater balance of Democrats and Republicans on ballot boards.
Crockett advocates for three additions to the “Advocate for Fair Election Process” section of the Republican Party of Minnesota’s “Statement of Principles.”
The first is a requirement that “party balanced election judges be present at the polls, in all early voting centers and on absentee ballot boards.” The second is a requirement that “party lists of election judges be exhausted by governing bodies and their election officials before appointing election judges or deputies from other sources.”
Lawsuits have arisen since 2020 that accuse several Minnesota cities and counties of appointing almost certainly Democratic city bureaucrats to absentee ballot boards in lieu of an equal number of Democratic and Republican election judges — a practice that appears to violate state law.
A more recent lawsuit also accuses the secretary of state’s office of not following the law in their amended absentee ballot verification process.
Crockett’s third proposed change to the Minnesota GOP platform is a statement of opposition to “local governments accepting money from private sources to fund election operations.”
In her email to supporters, Crockett said that in 2020 current secretary of state Steve Simon allowed Facebook to dump $7 million worth of “get out the vote” efforts in mostly Democratic areas.
“People have been asking for a proposed state party platform resolution on election integrity,” she wrote. “Finding none, I have created one, expressly to get ‘Zuckerbucks’ out of elections and to call attention to the lack of party balance on ballot boards. We absolutely need to restore confidence in elections in Minnesota.”
Crockett’s resolution was considered during Tuesday night’s precinct caucuses, where party activists elect delegates and vote on proposed changes to the party platform.
“Some precincts got to the proposed resolutions, some did not. But what I am hearing is that in the precincts that did consider the resolution, it was very well received,” she said, noting that the party should have an official tally this week.
Evan Stambaugh
Evan Stambaugh is a freelance writer who had previously been a sports blogger. He has a BA in theology and an MA in philosophy.
