Ritchie spreading word about election

Ritchie’s been on a swing of the state providing information about the state’s voting process and encouraging young people to participate.

As Ritchie traveled Wednesday, he told The Journal he’s learning the joys of hands-free cell phone use to discuss the election process and keep up with things at his St. Paul office.

At this point in the season, Ritchie said he is focusing on young and upcoming voters.

“If we want to keep Minnesota No. 1 in elections turnout by far, we have to have our young people getting into this life-long habit,” he said.

To encourage new and old voters, Ritchie said he’s been spending time at college campuses discussing how to vote and developing new tools at the website MNvotes.org.

Ritchie’s also encouraging people age 16-18 to become election judge trainees — they are paid, get out of school on election day and the experience often hooks them on the election process, he said.

Meanwhile, he said calls to his office have shifted from questions about how redistricting may have changed where people vote to what and who is on individual ballots.

New online tools at the Secretary of State’s website, www.sos.state.mn.us, and at MNvotes.org, can help answer most of the questions Minnesotans may have about the elections.

A “poll finder” tool will tell people where they should vote, and another new online tool, “My Ballot,” provides information about individual ballots to people who type in their address. The tool also includes links to information provided by candidates.

“People can find out what the actual language of the proposed constitutional amendments and any school referendums they will see when they vote,” said Ritchie of the tool.

Ritchie said he’s been monitoring absentee balloting and believes that Minnesota voter turnout will be about 78 percent, roughly what it was in the last presidential election.

“And that will keep us No. 1 in the nation,” he said. “We’re typically 5 percent, and last time it was 6 percent, ahead of the No. 2 state, which is Wisconsin.”

Because the state has grown slightly in population, the same percentage turnout would result in more people voting, he said.

“I believe this will be the largest number of people who have ever voted in Minnesota,” he said.

Many people are already voting, said Ritchie. Deer hunters are now voting absentee ballots as the firearms season in Minnesota starts before the Nov. 6 election. And one-quarter of all the state’s 430 townships vote by mail. He estimated at least 10 percent of eligible voters cast ballots before the actual election.

Mail-in ballots are a hot topic of debate over the voter ID constitutional amendment proposed this year. The costs involved in creating polling places that meet federal and state requirements where people now vote by mail could play a role in the outcome, he said.

“Local officials are now calculating local costs and what might take in property tax increases,” he said should mail voting be discontinued as a result of the proposed amendment.

While he was unsure of costs for Koochiching, he said it could cost $730,000 for Kittson County, where most of the 2,000 eligible voters vote by mail.

“For anyone who is voting by mail, this would be a huge change, and of course, 90 percent of costs of elections fall on county, city and townships,” he said.

Ritchie is also focusing on a requirement that was once in place that called for the Legislature to pay the costs associated with printing in local newspapers the wording of proposed amendments to the Constitution.

He said that practice should be reinstituted by the Legislature to allow voters to clearly understand that why may be voting on and to study the issue.

And while these are exciting times for Minnesota’s secretary of state, he said the work doesn’t end the day after the election. It simply changes as canvassing begins and takes about two weeks. If all goes well and there are no major recounts, the results of the election become official, he said.

“Then, I’ll take it easy, clean the house and get the junk out of my car after traveling around the state for the last few weeks,” he said.

But, there’s no time for long rest, he said. About 2/3 of his staff and 2/3 of his budget are dedicated to providing services to businesses, including registry of new business.

He said October brought an all-time record number of new business filings which brings with it work registering loans and liens and other requirements.’

“We refocus our attention on that crucial part of the office and that will feel good,” he said. “The last couple years have been kind of rough on business, but this year, I believe will be an all time record for new businesses.”