Minnesota election officials make changes to automatic voter registration system after issues arise

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Elections officials are making changes to Minnesota’s automatic voter registration system after finding some potentially problematic entries, but they say they are not aware of anyone ineligible who has been registered to vote via the system.

The Secretary of State’s Office said this week that more than 90,000 people have been registered or pre-registered since April, when Minnesota’s new system went live. Residents who apply for and receive state-issued IDs such as driver’s licenses are now automatically registered to vote without having to opt in if they meet legal criteria. And 16- and 17-year-olds can pre-register to vote once they turn 18.

Around 1 percent of those automatic registrations have been flagged for potential problems, said Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson, whose department issues driver’s licenses and other official identification cards, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

Secretary of State Steve Simon said those roughly 1,000 voter registrations will be kept “inactive” until the names, addresses and citizenship status are confirmed. He also said additional checks will be made to ensure that voters registered through the system meet the eligibility criteria. Flagged individuals will be notified that, if they are eligible, they will need to register to online, at their local election office, or in-person at their polling place on Election Day.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true»