Law enforcement at all levels of government in Minnesota poised to keep polling places peaceful

In the midst of heated rhetoric and high stakes, law enforcement at all levels of government in Minnesota are poised to keep the peace and monitor activities at polling places in Tuesday’s general election.

For the first time in a congressional or presidential election cycle, it’s now a crime in Minnesota for anyone who specifically targets any of the tens of thousands of election workers with intimidation, threats or harassment as they carry out their duties under a law that took effect last summer. Violating the law could come with civil penalties and up to a $1,000 fine for each offense.

“Every reasonable effort must be taken to allow a person the ability to cast their vote in accordance with the law,” said Minneapolis police Sgt. Garrett Parten, whose city has 143 polling precincts.

Two days before Election Day in Rochester, a 46-year-old man was arrested at a polling location after police say he showed up intoxicated and threatened to shoot people. Police have yet to offer a motive for the threat or whether he was armed.

The man was jailed on suspicion of threats of violence over comments he is accused of making about 11:15 a.m. outside an Olmsted County polling location at 2122 Campus Drive SE. An election judge reported the alleged threats by the man, who was accompanying someone there to vote, police said.

The suspect was later located nearby at Silver Creek Corner, a housing facility serving chronically homeless individuals struggling with addiction. Because of his “high level of intoxication,” he was taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital before being transported to the adult detention center.

Threats to election workers have dramatically increased across the country since the 2020 presidential election, when former President Donald Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud put a target on people who manage and run elections. In response, many states have passed laws similar to Minnesota’s.

As the legislation was making its way to becoming law, Secretary of State Steve Simon said he had heard of troubling polling-place behavior in all 87 of Minnesota’s counties. Among the reports: One election worker was followed to her car in the parking lot after hours by an angry voter, and the head of elections in one county was called repeatedly on her home phone over the weekend.

Peter Bartz-Gallagher, spokesman for Simon, said, “Our election security team does a lot of work making sure officials at the county and city level have all the resources they need — like law enforcement contacts and best practices for physical and cybersecurity.

“Minnesotans should have confidence when they go to vote that they will be safe from harassment, intimidation or harm.”

On Friday, U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Andrew Luger announced that Justice Department personnel will be available throughout Election Day to field questions and complaints related to possible violations of federal voting rights laws.

As for complaints related to any disruptions at a polling place, Luger added, those should be reported to local election officials. Concerns about violence, threats of violence or intimidation at a polling place should be reported immediately to local law enforcement by calling 911, he said.

In addition, said U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Meghan Gorman, “we have 10 volunteer staff people from our office — civil attorneys and paralegals — who will be out observing Election Day activities.”

The observers will be in Minneapolis, elsewhere in Hennepin County and in Ramsey County. They are among Justice Department monitors who are scheduled to be posted in 86 locations in 27 states.

Those states include what the political pundits have identified as the seven battlegrounds where Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump have been focusing their White House campaigns: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

While the Justice Department’s monitoring of elections has long been practiced under both Democratic and Republican administrations, some states are balking at the monitoring effort. Officials in Florida and Texas have said they won’t allow the oversight. And on Monday, Missouri filed a federal lawsuit seeking a court order to block federal officials from observing inside polling places.

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said he’s not aware of any active threats to polling places in his city or elsewhere in Minnesota, but, “I can assure you we will have extra resources on hand, and we are prepared for anything that may occur.”

“We want you to be safe when you go out and vote,” added the chief for Minnesota’s fifth-most populated city with more than 87,000 residents. “Rest assured, Bloomington, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that your voting is safe.”

Vigilance to keep in-person voting safe from threats or obstruction extends well beyond the Twin Cities.

Willmar police Capt. Michael Anderson said his department’s staff “met with election judges and went over contingency plans in the event of an emergency. Also, we have added additional patrol staff during voting times.”

The Duluth Police Department said in a statement it “continues to monitor intelligence information regarding any threats to the security of our local polling places, or the election in general.”

While state law prohibits officers from being posted inside or within 50 feet of a voting precinct unless called, “we will respond accordingly to any incidents that we may be called to on Election Day,” the statement continued.

Jp Lawrence, Sean Baker and Jana Hollingsworth contributed to this story, as well as the Associated Press.