How to Change Elections in Your Township

Township Day, Tuesday March 11, 2025

The recent Chokio Review (Stevens County) has an article on page 2, "Minnesota's townships to hold annual meetings on Township Day, March 11" which describes annual meetings to be held at the 1,776 townships throughout Minnesota, were over 900,000 people reside (if we are to take the recent census as accurate).

Some may think that local government is too far removed from decisions around election administration, but my research and experience has shown it is exactly the place to have discussions and make key decisions about elections. While one still can.

Even if one is not a town board supervisor, as some of my friends have become, showing up to the annual town meeting can start to connect a person with the local government so that change may happen. It is all of our small choices that add up.

It could well be that you are the first to ever bring up election issues, like my friend Mim in Stillwater Township, in Washington County. Even still, the power of one voice is significant.

What Can Towns, Cities, and Counties Do?

Even with the Legislature and MNSOS seeming to have considerable influence, counties and municipalities (cities/towns) can do quite a bit… Consider:

1. Using paper poll books (as of 2024, still have option)
2. Hand counting ballots (when 2023 law was passed, it was an ex post facto law, meaning when counties chose to in past use electronic voting equipment/tabulators, they could NOT have known they would later be mandated)
3. Administer and process OWN absentee/mail-in ballots instead of outsourcing to county

Further options, once completed the above:

1. If have mail-in only precincts, reversing prior decision and return to in-person voting in precinct - View Sample Resolution
2. Expanding the post-election review to include as many precincts as possible and as many races on the ballot as possible
3. Passing a resolution to ensure that no city employees are used for absentee ballot boards, but instead only party-balanced election judges

In 2024, the 94th Legislature (2024) introduced a new subdivision in MS 204C.20 BALLOTS; NUMBER TO BE COUNTED. which seems to hinder the option to hand count, even though hand counting is definitely allowed and prescribed in certain conditions within Minnesota law, such as for recounts and post-election reviews. So, why limit the ‘check and balance’ that trained election judges could do on election night in their precincts to verify a race or two?

The above menu is a starting point. Pursuing even just the first 3, sometimes referred to as The Oak Grove Way, would go a long way in your town, city, or county, especially if this approach is taken at scale across the state. The powers that be simply do not have enough resources to counter such an approach, which is why they resort to trying to control language, narrative, process, personnel, and legislative levers.

If pursuing any of the above and facing resistance, ask oneself: Why should anyone object if the goal is a secure, transparent, verifiable, and accessible election and these approaches are within the currently written election codes?

If the laws change in response to your efforts, then so be it, as it will at minimum help to alert your neighbors to the depth and scale of the issue of reclaiming control of our local government.

Keep in mind, beautiful elections are possible.