Office of the Legislative Auditor

A Minnesota voter registration review found counties processed 96% of new applications within legal time frames but struggled near elections and failed to update records for flagged disqualifying conditions like incarceration. Counties verified 99% of residency applications correctly but had errors in over a third of manually reviewed cases, prompting mixed reactions from state leaders.

A recent audit of Minnesota’s voter registration system found 99% accuracy in automated voter identity verification, with room for improvement in updating records for formerly incarcerated individuals. Secretary of State Steve Simon stated Minnesota’s election system is accurate, fair, and secure.

A former Minnesota Department of Human Services investigator alleged that state officials attempted to suppress his 2017 investigation into childcare fraud by demanding he delete portions of a report. Jay Swanson testified that a senior official ordered him to redirect findings to DHS instead of the Office of the Legislative Auditor, leading to a confrontation where he was threatened with retaliation. The allegations coincided with an FBI raid on Minneapolis childcare facilities, including the Quality Learning Center linked to a 2017 fraud indictment.