Sign in Subscribe

Steps to reform

Last updated on 
Steps to reform
Photo by Joe Pohle / Unsplash

Imagine you're selling a new way of doing elections.

  1. Voting on election day (not election month) takes 📃 and ✏️
  2. "Hand counting" is tallying done with 👀 and 🙌
  3. Everything is open to public 🏟️ and immediately auditable 📋

These three are fine under the Minnesota Constitution.

Article VII, Sec. 4, 5, and 8 speak about an "election day", election by ballot, and that the secretary of state along with four judges will check the returns and declare results.

The Minnesota Statutes go onto seriously complicate matters.

If you are selling a "new" election system, who are your "buyers"?

  1. Your buyers could be legislators, to update the election codes
  2. Your buyers could be county auditors and election managers, who you'd like to partner with to prepare for hand counting
  3. Your buyers could be city councils, township boards, or county boards, who have decision-making authority regarding use/non-use of electronic pollpads and establishing absentee ballot boards below the county level

Are these buyers going to go along with your demands?

Not right away...

Ask: Where are your "buyers" on the change cycle?

Pre-awareness? Awareness? Preparing? Ready for action?

There are activities which can bring buyers from pre-awareness to awareness. And through the remaining parts of the cycle. (Emails, videos, speeches, meetings, working sessions, hand count demonstrations.)

Remember: It is the buyer who takes the Leap of Faith.

Even when a buyer is ready, enabling that buyer is key.

  1. Demonstrating knowledge and experience to build trust.
  2. Removing objections by filling in information gaps.
  3. Answering questions to alleviate fears.

All this leads to a workable path to the new way.

That is if you are selling election reform.

Not many are.

Maybe you are one of the few.

If you don't love these emails, please unsubscribe—decluttering the mind is good!

If you do find value, please hit "Reply" and let me know what you like and what you want to see next.

Also, I hope you'll take time to share the documented work of such groups as ACEIT, in Anoka County, who recently created 11 draft resolutions (for cities and townships), which can be found on: https://projectminnesota.com/anoka ... or click on Reform in the website menu and scroll down to Anoka.