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Secretary of State Steve Simon wants to make Minnesotans safe while voting this fall. Part of his plan: allowing more people to vote by mail given the coronavirus pandemic. “We can’t just coast and glide on current law and think that’s going to do it,” Simon said. “We need some one-time emergency changes.” State Republicans, and President Trump, don't want people to vote via the mail. “It’s going to provide for a lot of electioneering, and it does open to door to election fraud,” said Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia, adding he would prefer adding polling places.
However, voter fraud is far from rampant in voting by mail. In fact, it's widely considered a safe option. NPR is one of several news organizations who have fact-checked conservatives' claims: "[Experts] especially those with experience in the handful of states that vote completely by mail, say states can implement things like ballot tracking, as well as pre-paid postage and ballot drop boxes which eliminate the need for voters to hand over their ballots to a third party."
In other COVID-19 news, the stay-at-home order will last another month. From our story: "Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is extending his stay-at-home order through May 4 and limiting bars and restaurants to takeout only until then. ... Walz said he’s instructed his commissioners to create standards for reopening other parts of the economy, such as recreation, within social distancing guidelines. But he added: 'I will not sacrifice the health of Minnesotans and the gains we've made.'"
Trump is doing something else behind his daily coronavirus briefings. MinnPost reports: “While President Donald Trump uses his daily coronavirus briefings to talk about the federal government’s response to the pandemic, his administration is also seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in court, which means 300,000 Minnesotans could lose access to health care during or after the COVID-19 outbreak.” And internationally, the World Health Organization leader is asking for people not to politicize the coronavirus. Reports NPR: "Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday, after President Trump criticized the WHO and its relationship with China. Tedros also revealed that in recent months, other criticisms of him have included death threats. 'Please don't politicize this virus,' Tedros said. 'The focus of all political parties should be to save their people.'"
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