Voter Security & Suppression

Every Voice Matters

Democracy only works when every eligible voter can participate freely and without barriers. Rural communities already face challenges — long drives to polling places, limited early voting access, and fewer election judges. Efforts to restrict voting only make it harder for our neighbors to be heard.

What’s at Stake

• Attempts to limit early voting or mail‑in voting

• Misinformation that undermines trust in elections

• Underfunded local election offices

• Barriers for seniors, people with disabilities, and working families

Our Values

We believe in fair, transparent, and accessible elections where every vote is counted and every voter is respected.

The Direction We Support

• Protecting early voting and vote‑by‑mail

• Ensuring rural counties have the resources they need

• Strengthening election security without restricting access

• Supporting nonpartisan voter education and outreach

VOTER SECURITY AND VOTER SUPPRESSION

Last week (4/20/26) the Republican Supreme Court (and I mean that) overturned another important accomplishment of the Civil Rights Movement. They gutted one of the remaining parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The VRA was a historic achievement in the pursuit of liberty and justice for all. 100 years after the Civil War, black folks in the South were going to get a fair shot at electing members of their own community, to represent their unique interests. It was all about how voting was conducted (and obstructed) and righting historical barriers to free and fair elections.

It worked for decades and was determined to be constitutional, despite many challenges. Election rigging was a historical norm in the century before the Voting Rights Act. Poll taxes, literacy requirements and voter intimidation and other means of voter suppression were to be ended. And then Donald Trump flipped the switch. He claimed a rigged election in 2020 and has maintained that deception. Now we know that he has continued “the big lie”, so he can claim legitimacy to his own efforts to rig elections in his favor. This is the reality of what we are facing, I know it and you know it in your heart. It’s wrong and undermines the fundamental principal of equal opportunity.

Last week Louisiana's Republican governor declared a STATE OF EMERGENCY to suspend their primary election. He didn't do this because of a deadly storm or natural disaster. Rather, he did it so the Republican Party can redraw legislative maps before the primary. This is so they can erase a historically black district and gerrymander the legislative map to give Republicans an additional House seat in Congress. I know it and you know it in your heart.

If you're angry about this and the whole mid-decade redistricting/gerrymandering shit show, there are things you can do.

First and foremost, acknowledge where it comes from. Presently, Trump pushed Texas to redistrict to save his ass in the mid-terms. Historically, white southerners and the Ku Klux Klan sought to prevent blacks from electing their own to represent them. It’s a much longer story, but these are the same people that rallied in Charlottesville, where Trump said there were good people on both sides of the demonstration. (the one where they chanted “Jews will not replace us”) They flew their confederate flags, displayed their neo-Nazi insignia and rallied around their militia flags and Proud Boys banners. This is where the gerrymandering impetus comes from. In this moment, it is being manifested by the Republican Party. I know it and you know it in your heart.

One of the prideful things in my life has been working on the Voter Protection Project, a Democratic initiative started after the Bush v. Gore and the “hanging chad” and Supreme Court debacle. We do a variety of things from before an election starts through its certification and beyond. I have been involved in multiple recounts along the way. We observe testing of vote tabulators and have people observing in polling places across the state. All the legitimate ways of protecting free and fair elections.

Anyone can be involved in election protection, Republicans and Democrats. I can assure you that Republicans I have worked with on this know that Minnesota has free and fair elections. I also

know that many of those same Republicans will perpetuate rhetoric about the need for tighter election security. The fact of the matter is that this is really about voter suppression, whether they admit it or not. Sad but true.

If you know this in your heart and want to do something about it, join us in the Aitkin County DFL, learn more and do more to protect our Democracy.

John McIntosh – Chair, Aitkin County DFL