Carver County GOP asks neighbors to report voter fraud
The Carver County GOP is asking people to report neighbors who have moved or died in an effort to combat voter fraud.
Their chair, Patricia Williamson, recently sent out the request to thousands on a mailing list, inviting people to report neighbors to them or the Secretary of State.
"We can do our part to help maintain our voter rolls," Williamson wrote. "The data is supposed to be routinely updated by the County. But we don't know how frequently they do."
"We've seen in several states that there is evidence of people who have moved or incorrectly registered to vote," said Williamson.
Williamson said she used AI to examine voter data and found a few people who shouldn't be on the voter roll.
"This email that went out, I think is just kind of weird and bizarre," said Minnesota DFL Chair Richard Carlbom. "It's somehow trying to make people doubt their neighbors and I just think that is not Minnesotan."
The email is an intentional effort to undermine trust in Minnesota's election system, Carlbom said.
"Out of the millions and millions and tens of millions of votes cast, there's hardly any sign of voter fraud whatsoever," he said.
Minnesota's election system is widely regarded as one of the safest and most secure in the country. The Secretary of State's office said the state's voter registration system is done through a continuous and rigorous data-matching process done by each and every county.
The records of voters who have moved are updated based on data from the postal service and DVS, while deceased voters are inactivated based on data from the health department, the Social Security Administration, and local obituaries, a spokesperson said.
Carlbom is concerned this email could prompt people with ill intentions.
"I do worry that somebody could see a lawn sign on your yard and decide to declare to the county that you've moved and you get kicked off the voter rolls. That's not fair," said Carlbom.
"It's still dependent upon the county to look into and investigate," said Williamson. "They're not just going to remove you on my word. They have to have substantiated information."