Photo by Samantha Davis. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon visits Marshall High School Tuesday afternoon to talk about the importance of voting.

MARSHALL — Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon visited Marshall High School Tuesday afternoon to talk to an Advanced Placement Government and Current Issues class.

Simon, originally sworn into office in 2015 as the 22nd Secretary of State, works to oversee Minnesota elections and voting. He spoke to the class about the importance of voting in community, state and national levels, processes and security of voting, registering and ways to vote. He did not discuss any specific political party information.

“Registration only means two things … All it means is you’ve got to show that you are who you say you are, and you live where you say you live,” Simon said. “In Minnesota, for over 50 years, we have had a law that says you can register up to, and including the day of the election.”

The Hopkins native, who previously served in the state’s House of Representatives and Assistant Attorney General, also had a QR code for students to scan that directed them to mnvotes.gov, for more information regarding ballots and voting processes.

“We now have pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds,” Simon said. “It means, of course you can’t formally register or vote until you’re 18 years old, but now, you can get in line and you can pre-register to vote.”

When Simon asked the class who is currently 18, about five raised their hands and a large number followed saying they will be in the next two years.

Voting can be done by mailing in a ballot, voting early in-person which is currently going on, or on Nov. 5, which Simon also mentioned. He informed the class they can register to vote when they get or renew their license in Minnesota on the form, as voting registration only requires a name and address.

“Any of us in Minnesota who are eligible to vote, can vote from home. You don’t have to go to a polling place,” Simon said. “We have multiple layers of security that almost no other state has. When you order that ballot on mnvotes.gov to come to you at home, you can’t just order the ballot. You’ve got to provide some personal identifying information … Then, you have to sign the ballot once you get it in the mail, and you have to have a witness sign as well, attesting to the fact that you voted that ballot.”

Prompted from a student question, Simon said it’s nearly impossible for someone to tamper with ballots in the mail, because they would need to know the voter’s personal information, signature and their witness.

“In nine years of doing this job, I have not seen a single case, not one [of mail conflicts],” Simon said. “So, it’s a very secure, very reliable and very dependable way to vote.”

Along with mail, there also was a question regarding security with voting in-person.

“In Minnesota, we have a procedure called a public accuracy test,” Simon said. “What it means, is that every single unit of government, whether it’s a small township, huge city, or a county, every single place that owns and uses elections must, within a couple weeks of every election … Have to, in a pre-noticed public meeting, [test the voting machines].”

Simon said the process is an occasion for the public to watch the election staff try to trick any of the voting equipment for flaws, and affirm that only machines which perform perfectly are used on election day.

“We are a paper ballot state. … Under federal law, we have to keep those ballots under lock and key for two years,” Simond said. “So, if someone has a hunch, or a whim, or a bad vibe about a particular piece of equipment and you weren’t satisfied … You have paper. You can always reconcile what the machine spits out with the actual paper.”

Simon told the class that Minnesota has seen good outcomes with voter turnout, including ranking first in the country in the last three of four elections.

Another student asked if demographics are tracked in the voting process.

“Not at all … The only thing that we are even capable of tracking is age, because when you register to vote, you have to put your birthday down,” Simon said. “When you register to vote, you don’t say your gender, you don’t say race, religion, ethnicity or anything.”

Simon offered clarification on what his office does, and that votes are counted by the community.

“What we do is we oversee the Minnesota election system … We do not count votes ever. We don’t lay a finger on anyone’s ballot. That all happens here, it happens in cities, happens in towns, it happens in counties throughout Minnesota,” Simon said. “We compile and aggregate what other people on election night are counting.”

Simon also said that anyone 16 years old or older can work as an election judge, and help in polling places.

“The absentee ballots are usually [counted by] the county or city offices, but most of them are cast on game day, and they’re counted and verified by your friends, neighbors, parents,” Simon said. “We certify all the election equipment that’s used in the polling place, we certify that for use in Minnesota. Then at the very end of the process, we do post-election audits and reviews.”

Simon spoke on the common arguments he hears about those who do not wish to register, including a single vote not deciding an election and other contests on the ballot besides the President.

“I can see [the argument] that the presidency is not likely to be decided by a single American vote, in the state of Minnesota. That’s true, but you would be shocked to know probably, that every year since I’ve had this job, there have been one or more elections in Minnesota either tied or decided by one vote,” Simon, who detailed the 2023 City Council election in Hopkins as an example, said.

Regarding filling out ballots, Simon informed the students that voters can leave what they don’t know, blank.

“Your ballot is not spoiled if you vote for just certain contests, and not all of them. Vote for what you know,” Simon said. “You are not less than, dumber than, less ignorant than, less civically minded than … Someday, you will know and care about the county commissioner, but until that day comes, don’t beat yourself up.”

To end his discussion, Simon encouraged students interested in working in government that they don’t have to follow a direct path and anyone can do it. He also visited and talked at Southwest Minnesota State University after.