Minnesota doesn't maintain data on voters registered using 'voucher' system, documents show
America First Legal, a conservative government watchdog group, released the documents, which show the Minnesota Secretary of State doesn't retain data on registrations using the controversial "voucher" policy.
Tens of thousands of voter registrations in Minnesota used the state's "voucher" policy, which allows voters to override identification and proof residency requirements, documents obtained by America First Legal (AFL) show.
The AFL released the documents on Tuesday, which were obtained through a records request the conservative government watchdog group submitted to the Minnesota Secretary of State.
Under the state's vouching system, voters who don't have identification or proof of residency can bypass the requirements by having another registered voter from the same precinct vouch for the voter wanting to register or signing a proof-of-residence oath in front of an election judge, which is attached to the voter's registration application.
The AFL's records request sought data broken down by residential facility and vouching method. In its response, the Minnesota Secretary of State's office responded "No data responsive" to nearly every critical category in the request. The office admitted that it doesn't record or maintain data on the vouching method.
"With tens of thousands of voters registering through vouching across recent cycles, without basic verification safeguards, the vouching policies and practices leave Minnesota’s elections vulnerable and risk Americans’ votes being canceled by fraudulently registered voters. Americans have the right to know that every vote cast is legal and every election is secure. America First Legal will not rest until Minnesota fortifies its elections," Will Scolinos, attorney with AFL, said in a statement.