WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Joe Gruters and Minnesota Republican Party (MNGOP) Chairman Alex Plechash released the following statement after filing an amicus brief today urging the Minnesota Supreme Court to uphold the state’s commonsense witness requirement for absentee ballots:
“Mail-in ballot safeguards protect voters and our elections from manipulation and abuse,” said Chairman Gruters and Chairman Plechash. “Like several other states, Minnesota uses a witness requirement to stop fraud and coercion in absentee ballots. Minnesota’s voters deserve to have confidence in their elections, which is why the RNC and the MNGOP are filing this brief.”
Chairman Alex Plechash added:
“Governor Walz and the DFL have spent years trying to weaken Minnesota’s election laws, making it easier for fraud and abuse to go unchecked. Their reckless push to dismantle safeguards like the witness requirement is nothing more than an attempt to tip the scales in their favor. Minnesotans should not have to wonder if their elections are fair or if their votes are being canceled out by fraud.”
“We’ve already taken these fights to court — in Hennepin County, in the special election dispute for District 40B — and we’ve won. When Walz and his allies tried to illegally call a special election before state law allowed, the Minnesota Supreme Court threw that out. When Hennepin County refused to follow state law requiring partisan balance on absentee ballot review boards, our lawsuit forced them to restore fairness. These are not theoretical concerns; they are real abuses that undermine voter confidence. The Minnesota GOP will never stop fighting to make sure every legal vote counts, and that election integrity is restored in our state.”
Background:
Today, the RNC and MNGOP filed an amicus brief in defense of Minnesota’s long-standing witness requirement for absentee ballots in the case of Minnesota Alliance for Retired Americans v. Simon.
The witness requirement ensures that all absentee voters show their blank ballot to a qualified witness before marking it, and that the witness signs the ballot return envelope certifying proper completion.
This safeguard protects against fraud and coercion and ensures absentee ballots are lawfully submitted.
Minnesota is one of at least 10 states to have a witness requirement for individuals who vote by mail.
Courts have consistently upheld Minnesota’s witness requirement, including in 2021 when a federal court rejected an effort to throw out the requirement, a case in which the RNC and MNGOP intervened.
Hennepin County case: The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Hennepin County must appoint election judges from the Republican Party’s list, after it was found that none of the Republican names (from a list of ~1,500 volunteers) had been appointed to the absentee ballot review board.
Special Election District 40B case: The GOP challenged Gov. Tim Walz’s calling of a special election for House District 40B, arguing the election was called prematurely under state law. The Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously held that Gov. Walz unlawfully called the special election before a vacancy arose under state law.