MN Sec. Simon testifies on state election laws in Congress

ST. PAUL, Minn. (GRAY) – Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon testified before the U.S. House Committee on Administration Thursday, as members of Congress asked him questions about the state’s election laws and policies.

Simon, a DFLer, testified beside Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican.

“Minnesota is proud of its accurate, fair, secure, accessible, and trusted election system, and I appreciate the opportunity to speak about it,” Simon said in his opening remarks.

The hearing was fairly cordial, though it was clear both parties had political agendas they hoped to tailor questions to.

For Republicans, most questions directed toward Simon related to the state’s election integrity. The secretary fielded questions about the state’s vote-by-mail program and its same-day registration vouching system, among others.

“If you find out that [people who were vouched for] weren’t registered voters, their vote still counts?” Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) asked during the hearing.

“Theoretically, that would be the case,” Simon said.

“Do [you] not see that that’s a potential problem?” Loudermilk asked in response.

Simon told the committee that the state’s registration laws require an individual to prove they “are who they say they are and live where they say they live.” He argued that voter eligibility is determined separately, and that vouching is only for proof of address.

“Vouching only pertains against a residency,” he said. “No one is vouching for someone’s citizenship, age, or anything else.”

Simon and Schwab’s answers were pitted beside conversations about federal voting policy; namely, members of the committee frequently mentioned President Trump’s executive order relating to voting-by-mail and the SAVE Act.

Democrats on the committee mainly asked Simon to describe how he feels Minnesota would be impacted by said policies.

“Can you describe briefly the impact that both the SAVE Act and the executive order would have if they were to go into effect?”

“I’m concerned with the executive order on the merits, that it’s putting the Postal Service in a position that I don’t think it’s ever been in, which is being the eligibility cops when it comes to elections,” Simon said. “The SAVE Act, likewise, would make voting by mail very difficult in the sense of providing the proper proofs.”