Minn.'s Secretary Of State Disputes Trump's Rigged Voting Claims
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota's top election official rejected claims Tuesday by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump of a "rigged" voting system.
Trump has made repeated claims that he expects voter fraud in the November election, but Minnesota's secretary of state says it is all but impossible here.
Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders both claimed this year that the system is "rigged" against them.
But Trump takes it one step further: if he loses, he says it is because the election itself is fraudulent.
"And I'm afraid the election's going to be rigged, I have to be honest," Trump said last week.
There is no factual evidence of widespread voter fraud, or impersonation, or ballot stuffing.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon says he does not know what the word "rigged" means.
"When I hear the word, it conjures up images of some group of schemers trying to, you know, alter or manipulate the results," Simon said.
He oversees the state's polling system, which is recently ranked number two in the country for election performance.
Minnesota has paper ballots, encrypted counting systems and a law requiring all records be kept for two years.
"And I have to tell you, in Minnesota, that is just not going to happen," Simon said. "It would take such an extraordinary effort across thousands of polling places to do something like that."
Despite little evidence of fraud, voters believe it anyway.
A Bloomberg Poll last week found 34 percent of all voters think the election is "rigged," including 56 percent of all Trump voters.
Many are reflecting Trump's view.
"The only way we can lose, in my opinion, I really mean this ... is if cheating goes on. I really believe it," said Trump at a recent campaign appearance.
Minnesota voters rejected a Voter ID constitutional amendment in 2012.
And Minnesota voters lead the nation in voter turnout: typically 75 percent turnout and above.