St. Paul City Council president warns of federal involvement on Election Day

St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker is sounding the alarm about federal involvement at the polls in November.

On Wednesday, Noecker called for Ramsey County to strengthen protections for voters and election workers. In a statement, she said the county must "proactively and aggressively prepare for federal interference." 

She says the county already saw federal election monitors at the polls this past August. Noecker says the community has been raising concerns for months about the impact immigration enforcement could have on voting.

Noecker made the comments after U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced charges against 10 non-citizens for voter fraud in Minnesota. Blanche says the foreign nationals illegally registered or voted in several elections, including as recently as last month's primary. While all of the suspects are here legally, Green Card holders are not allowed to vote.

Minnesota election officials say non-citizen voting is incredibly rare. In a statement, Secretary of State Steve Simon said in part, "If these indictments result in convictions, that will amount to 10 individuals over a period in which around 8.5 million votes were cast in Minnesota."

The U.S. Department of Justice announced last month it will deploy 1,000 election monitors to polling places across the country for the midterm elections, nearly 700 more monitors than the number dispatched in the 2022 midterms.