The Star Tribune's Nov. 19 editorial, "A suspect warning of voter fraud," states that Minnesota Majority stands "fairly accused of trying to suppress voter turnout." I was not aware that the Star Tribune was in the position of determining what constitutes a "fair" criminal charge. The level of venomous rhetoric and baseless attacks on our credibility in response to our simple requests for information and for an investigation into voter-registration irregularities is breathtaking. It seems abundantly clear that the Star Tribune's editors do not want some questions to be asked.

The baseless accusation that Minnesota Majority seeks to suppress voting is absurd. The very purpose of our organization is to make informed and effective civic participation easier for the average Minnesotan. As part of that concern, we recognize that beyond voting, protecting the value and integrity of that vote is also necessary.

Another common refrain being used to attack our good intentions is the demand for us to produce evidence, the implication being that there is none. We are a nonprofit group dedicated to studying and reporting on legislation. How many cases are we obligated to investigate and document? We have already provided evidence of thousands of voter-registration irregularities to law-enforcement officials in 30 counties, including more than 100 cases of what appears to be double voting. We have taken photographs of addresses listed on voter-registration records where no residential property exists. We have provided this evidence to the proper authorities for investigation. We are just asking them to do their jobs.

Weaknesses in our current election system render it vulnerable to errors and abuse that are virtually undetectable. It is therefore critically important that a voter's identity and eligibility be confirmed before he or she votes.

A joint task force in Wisconsin consisting of the U.S. attorney, the FBI and local law-enforcement officials discovered widespread record-keeping failures and separate areas of voter fraud. The task force's findings are strikingly similar to many of the issues revealed by Minnesota Majority's research.

Minnesota Majority is calling for a similar investigation into Minnesota's election system and for election law reforms that will improve the security and integrity of our electoral process. That the Star Tribune's editors find these common-sense measures so objectionable suggests they favor a system that invites errors and abuse.

Jeff Davis is president of Minnesota Majority.