Community leaders urge Dakota County board to reject federal mail-in ballot restrictions

DAKOTA CO., Minn. (FOX 9) - A fight over who can vote by mail is heading to the nation's highest court — and Minnesota election officials are already fielding questions.

Mail-in voting under fire

FOX 9's Emily Pofahl reports on what Minnesota's top election official is saying about new federal restrictions on mail-in voting and the community pushback growing at the county level.

What we know:

President Trump signed an executive order in March to bar the U.S. Postal Service from sending mail-in ballots to voters not listed on a special registry. Trump said on July 16, "Mail-In ballots are inherently corrupt.... No mail-in ballots except for illness, disability, military deployment or travel."

A federal judge blocked the order, but the White House has now appealed to the Supreme Court for the third time, asking the court to allow the restrictions to take effect ahead of November's midterms.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon says around 450,000 Minnesotans voted by mail in 2024. As of now, Simon expects voting by mail to stay the same for November's election. But he also says the new rule "would require a massive surge in staffing by local election offices – requiring an untold number of new election officials to be hired and trained immediately."

What we don't know:

It remains unclear whether the Supreme Court will take up the White House's appeal or how quickly a decision could come, given that vote by mail in Minnesota starts Sept. 18.

Dakota County community speaks out

What they're saying:

On Sept. 1, a packed Dakota County Board of Commissioners meeting drew residents and church leaders raising concerns about elections. Over and over, community members stepped up to the podium.

"We've seen proposed restrictions in mail-in voting. We've seen a federal government obsessed with getting voting rolls," one speaker said.

"I recently became a grandmother and I cannot think of what might happen to our elections and have to tell my grandchildren that I didn't do everything that I could," another resident said.

The group of citizens and church leaders asked commissioners to sign a pledge refusing to comply with what they call "unlawful executive orders or data requests" that restrict voting. Counties are in charge of administering elections.

What's next:

The group says it received a response from only two of Dakota County's seven commissioners. Board Chair Laurie Halverson did not respond to the pledge, except to say, "This is an important time in terms of making sure people can have their voices heard," said Halverson.

An imam at the meeting also spoke to the fear felt in his community. "Our community is kind of scared, and they want to be free for voting," he said.

A pastor added, "We as citizens in your jurisdiction need to know that any attempts to undermine the votes of our neighbors will be opposed," he said.

The Source: This story is based on FOX 9 reporting by Emily Pofahl, including footage and statements from the Sept. 1 Dakota County Board of Commissioners meeting and comments from Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon.