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President Donald Trump’s recent threat to end absentee and mail-in voting and get rid of election machines is a dangerous distraction. The president can’t change election laws; only states and Congress can. This isn’t about making our elections safer. It’s about causing people to doubt and distrust a system that, in the U.S. and Minnesota, is already safe, fair and clean. This is a direct attack on our freedom to vote.
The push to eliminate absentee and mail-in voting is particularly troubling. These methods are a cornerstone of modern elections, providing flexibility and accessibility for millions of Americans, including military members serving abroad, people with disabilities and those with inflexible work schedules. In the 2024 election, more than 1.3 million Minnesotans — nearly 40% of state voters — cast an absentee or mail-in ballot. Every state has robust checks and oversight to make sure voters registering are eligible. These security measures apply to military and overseas voters in all the same ways. Taking away this option would disenfranchise a massive number of voters.
The president’s rationale for this dangerous proposal is even more alarming. He cited the opinion of Russian President Vladimir Putin to support his position: “Vladimir Putin, smart guy, said you can’t have an honest election with mail-in voting.” Using Putin’s opinion as justification for a policy is not merely absurd; it’s deeply troubling. It suggests a level of admiration for a man who has systematically dismantled fair elections in his own country. It raises the alarming question of whether the president sees Russia’s authoritarian path as a model to be emulated rather than a warning to be heeded.
In Minnesota, our elections are a model of security and efficiency. They are administered by local officials — 30,000 of our friends and neighbors — who are Republicans, Democrats and independents. These dedicated public servants work tirelessly to ensure that every ballot is counted accurately and securely.
The system is built on a foundation of checks and balances. Every voter in Minnesota uses a paper ballot, creating a permanent, auditable record of every vote cast. These ballots are counted by certified, non-internet-connected machines that are tested for accuracy before every election. After the election, a statewide, bipartisan audit of a random sample of paper ballots is conducted to verify the results. This robust system of paper ballots, machine testing and post-election audits provides multiple layers of security and ensures the integrity of the vote.
The claim of widespread voter fraud is a fiction designed to justify an attack on our democratic processes. There is no evidence of a systemic problem with fraud. In fact, when isolated instances of attempted fraud do occur, they are quickly caught and prosecuted, which proves that the system works as intended. In Minnesota, a University of St. Thomas study found three instances of voter fraud from 2003 to 2023 out of 14 million votes.
