Voting rights are under attack again

Voting is a sacred right in this country. As the foundation upon which our democracy rests, its broad participation is to be encouraged.

It is nothing short of shameful, then, to see blatant attempts at voter suppression in the name of "election integrity" that in fact do nothing to address that integrity. Shortening poll hours in Iowa, limiting polling locations, banning Sunday absentee voting in Georgia to limit "Souls to the Polls" voting drives by largely Black churches — none of these address possible voter fraud. They are not even fig leaves. Their sole purpose is to limit voter partici­pation, making it harder for some to engage in the most basic of civil rights.

Lawmakers in 43 states are pushing more than 250 bills that would limit access. These include attempts to resurrect old limits on absentee voting that required reasons why the voter could not cast a ballot in person.

Minnesota is not immune. Republicans here are making another attempt to institute photo ID, which voters soundly rejected in 2012 when it came before them as a constitutional amendment.

It must be said, again, that Minnesota and the nation just came through one of the most scrutinized elections ever, and passed with flying colors. How do we know? Because the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the National Association of Secretaries of State, the National Association of State Election Directors, and the election unit at the Department of Homeland Security under former President Donald Trump all declared "the November 3 election to be the most secure in American history."

We know because in Minnesota rigorous audits and reviews were conducted in 87 counties that assured us of election integrity. It is particularly dismaying to see these attempts in our state, where a strong commitment to civic participation has earned Minnesota some of the highest turnout rates in the country, election after election. Citizens should not have to run a gauntlet simply to cast a vote. It is their right as Americans to vote.

"We all need to focus on what the truth is," Secretary of State Steve Simon told an editorial writer. "The Minnesota election was fair, accurate and secure. That is a fact. That was the case nationwide as well."

When mistakes are made, Simon said, they typically are just that — mistakes, not attempts at deliberate fraud. He said in Minnesota there might be a couple of dozen such cases in a state of more than 5 million people. "To get at those couple dozen," he said, "you might shut out hundreds, even thousands of voters."

One of the most important innovations the state took on to increase voter participation, Simon said, was when it passed no-excuses absentee balloting in 2013. "It sailed through on an overwhelming bipartisan vote," he said. Since then, it has only grown in popularity and proved vital to efforts to vote during the pandemic.

Gov. Tim Walz told an editorial writer that "when you're afraid of the voters, you want to make it harder for them to vote. We're not afraid of voters in this state. And you are wasting every minute of your time if you are working on one of these bills, because they will never cross my desk."

There are some common-sense improvements Minnesota can make to its voting process. Simon said that a temporary measure that gave election officials a 14-day head start to process absentee ballots should be made permanent, rather than snapping back to one week. "If you want to get ballots counted by Election Day, that's one of the best ways," he said.

That would be progress. Lawmakers should heed Simon's advice.