Kim Crockett warns mailing ballots leaves you open to ID theft; USPS says she's misrepresenting

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Republican Party candidate for Minnesota Secretary of State is warning voters that putting your election ballot in a blue U.S. Postal Service collection box is leaving you open to identity theft.

Kim Crockett has called Joe Biden's election as president rigged, and now she's going after mail-in voting. Her opponent in next week's election says mail-in voting is safe.

Crockett cited the U.S. Post Office as her source, but the postal service told us Crockett is misrepresenting a local press release with tips for the holidays. Crockett is an election denier who has campaigned against mail-in balloting.

"Blue mail boxes may not be secure when you are putting in sensitive data, and that could include a voter registration form or a ballot," Crockett said. "We're going to be talking to people about reversing mail-in balloting that is suppressing the conservative vote."

RELATED: WCCO Election Guide 2022

The latest poll shows that Crockett has pulled within a statistical tie of incumbent Secretary of State Steve Simon, trailing him in this latest poll by 2 percentage points.

With the race considered a toss-up, Simon says a lot is at stake if Crockett wins.

"It's that kind of irresponsible baseless talk that at its very worse can inspire what we saw on Jan. 6. We don't want that," Simon said.

Simon and other supporters of mail-in ballots say mail-in balloting is nothing new -- the U.S. military has used it for more than 100 years going back to the Civil War.

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Crockett last week. Simon says if you have any concerns about your mail-in ballot, you can track it by using the Secretary of State's website.