How Minnesota secretary of state's office ensures safe, secure election
MINNEAPOLIS — With more political division across the country, voter safety has become a top priority.
The focus is on keeping people and ballots safe, and the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office has been prepping and training for Election Day for over a year.
It was a quiet lunch hour on Election Day at a polling precinct in Minneapolis' Lowry Hill neighborhood. Voters said they felt their voice was heard.
"I saw [my ballot] just slide right into that machine and disappear, so I felt very confident," said Anne Kiely, a Hennepin County voter.
This secure voting experience is exactly what Election Security Navigator, Bill Ekblad, hoped for. He says they've been testing their tabulation machines with sample ballots several times.
"There's a lot of testing that goes into the equipment to ensure that it works the way that it's supposed to," said Ekblad.
He says voters should feel safe at the polls, too, and they ensure that by training every election judge to be the first line of defense for de-escalation.
"They know the right words to use, the right gestures to use and not use, so that they don't escalate tensions, and in fact bring that temperature down on a situation that might otherwise seem tense," he said.
Which is needed more than ever in this election.
"Definitely different this election, just because it feels a little bit more high stakes," said Camila DuBrin-Meneses, a Hennepin County voter.
On a federal level, the U.S. Department of Justice is also involved in ensuring a secure election. It is monitoring voting jurisdictions in 27 states, including three in Minnesota.