WASHINGTON,
D.C. – Republican
National Committee (RNC) Chairman Joe Gruters and Minnesota Republican Party
(MNGOP) Chairman Alex Plechash released the following statement after filing an
amicus
brief today urging the Minnesota Supreme Court to uphold the state’s
commonsense witness requirement for absentee ballots:
“Mail-in ballot safeguards protect voters and our elections from manipulation
and abuse,” said Chairman Gruters and Chairman Plechash. “Like
several other states, Minnesota uses a witness requirement to stop fraud and
coercion in absentee ballots. Minnesota’s voters deserve to have confidence in
their elections, which is why the RNC and the MNGOP are filing this brief.”
Background:
- Today, the RNC and MNGOP filed an amicus
brief in defense of Minnesota’s long-standing witness
requirement for absentee ballots in the case of Minnesota Alliance for
Retired Americans v. Simon.
- The witness requirement ensures that all absentee voters show
their blank ballot to a qualified witness before marking it, and that the
witness signs the ballot return envelope certifying proper completion.
- This safeguard protects against fraud and coercion and
ensures absentee ballots are lawfully submitted.
- Minnesota is one of at least 10 states to have a witness
requirement for individuals who vote by mail.
- Courts have consistently upheld
Minnesota’s witness requirement, including
in 2021 when a federal court
rejected an
effort to throw out the requirement, a case in which the RNC and MNGOP
intervened.
- This effort follows the RNC’s recent court victory in
Texas,
where the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
rejected an attempt to overturn protections for voters who need
assistance.
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