Op-ed: Rep. Paul Torkelson: Gov. Tim Walz’s actions lead to non-citizens receiving ballot
As American citizens, there is nothing more sacred to us than our right to vote. In order to be able to cast a ballot, common sense would dictate that if you are not a legal citizen, there is no chance you will be able to vote.
But as we’ve seen time and again in the State of Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz’s actions often defy what many consider common sense. The latest example has allowed non-Americans to be placed on our state’s voter rolls and given ballots.
In 2023, Walz signed a bill championed by Minnesota’s Democratic Party majority that allows illegal immigrants to obtain the same driver’s licenses that Minnesota’s residents receive if they choose not to apply for a Real ID or an enhanced driver’s license.
In order to participate in same-day voter registration in Minnesota, you need to provide a form of identification. One of those options is – you guessed it – a driver’s license. Under the law signed by Walz, a non-citizen’s license looks identical to everyone else’s. You won’t even find a “not to be used for voting purposes” notation on the card. So, if you compared the driver’s license of someone who was born here and someone who was not, you couldn’t tell the difference.
Not long after signing that law, Walz approved another that provides automatic voter registration after Minnesotans receive their driver’s licenses.
Gov. Walz and Democrats refused to put any safeguards on these proposals, insisting that Minnesota has the best election system in America and that it was inconceivable that an illegal ballot could ever be cast here.
A few weeks ago, reports surfaced that multiple lawfully present noncitizens have been confirmed to be on Minnesota’s voter roll. This came to light after a noncitizen reported that a primary ballot had arrived in his mailbox even though he had not registered to vote.
The Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Minnesota have since asked the Walz administration to confirm how many non-citizens have been improperly registered. Just days ahead of early voting, the Walz administration finally admitted that more than 1,000 voter registrations were ‘deactivated’ following a manual review of voters added to the rolls as a result of Automatic Voter Registration.
Notably, the Walz administration refused to answer whether any of these more than 1,000 individuals had voted in the recent primary, and his administration continues to dodge other straightforward questions about its failures to protect the integrity of our elections.
In a state where races have been decided by just a few votes, even a 1 percent error rate in this new system is unacceptable if it results in unlawful voters being added to the voter roll.
Minnesotans need assurances that their state agencies are complying with state law and doing everything in their power to protect the integrity of our election system. With so much at stake at both the federal and state levels, every Minnesota citizen should know their election system is protected, transparent, fair, and honest. When noncitizens are receiving ballots in the mail, that is a problem, and it’s time for Gov. Walz to get to the bottom of it.
