News Room

SAINT PAUL – On August 18, 2025, President Trump posted inflammatory and inaccurate information about elections on social media.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon issued the following response.

“The President’s post on social media this morning is alarming. At best, it is completely disconnected from the reality of how elections work in the real world. At worst, it amplifies dangerous conspiracy theories.

The U.S. Constitution gives states full control of the time, place, and manner of elections – subject only to action by Congress. A President has no power to grab election authority from states.

America’s elections are run largely by local communities. This choice is intentional to ensure that towns, cities, and counties have full control over who represents them. The people who do the work of administering elections are our neighbors and friends, each of whom takes an oath to follow the law, prevent fraud, and conduct their work in a fair and impartial manner. These local election administrators register voters, create ballots, count ballots, and so much more. Once their work is complete on election night, they report the results to our office. Our office never touches a ballot during an election.

Local election officials use ballot tabulators – which are sometimes referred to as “voting machines.” Ballot tabulators are certified by state and federal authorities and are tested locally, in public, before every single election. They are proven to be far quicker, more accurate, and less costly than hand counting. And, in Minnesota we always use paper ballots to check the accuracy of the machines after the election.

Finally, Minnesotans appreciate and embrace the flexibility they have to vote from home by mail - which has been permitted for many decades. People lead busy lives. Sometimes, they live temporarily away from their homes. Allowing people the option to cast their ballot securely from home is common sense – and is widely supported and practiced by both Republicans and Democrats, including over 1.2 million Minnesotans in 2024. The option to vote by mail is available in dozens of other countries as well.

Minnesota’s elections are free, fair, secure, and accurate because of strong laws and the decentralization of election administration.

The courts, at the urging of Minnesota and other states, have already rejected one unlawful attempt by this President to take over state and local election systems. If the President’s social media post turns into an actual executive order, I will take whatever legal action is necessary to continue protecting Minnesota’s elections from federal overreach.”