Robinson Addresses Misinformation About Elections | News

Tuesday was Primary Election Day in Minnesota, and Morrison County officials took the opportunity to address concerns recently brought forward by residents.

County Administrator Matt LeBlanc said county staff members and the Board of Commissioners had recently heard concerns regarding the county’s use, or lack thereof, of cast vote records (CVR). He invited Auditor/Treasurer Chelsey Robinson forward to describe the system and how it works.

“We’ve had some discussion and some questions around the cast vote record,” Robinson said. “The cast vote record is a software within our ballot tabulators — our ballot counter machines — that we can utilize to capture write-in votes.”

She said Morrison County first used the system for the 2020 general election and, though it is not required to do so, it has opted to use it again in November. However, because there are no write-ins allowed in the primary election, it was not used, Tuesday.

The program, Robinson said, takes an image of write-in selections when they are available, as they will be in the general election. They do not capture an image of the entire ballot; only write-in votes.

“We are not using it in the August primary because it’s not necessary,” she said. “In the November elections we will be using it. It’s not required, but it’s another tool that we’re able to utilize in our toolbox with our election vendors.”

In answer to some of the questions she has heard regarding the system, she clarified that it is not a separate machine and is only a software program.

“Some individuals have maybe said, ‘Well, if we have cast vote records, it would image the ballots,’” Robinson said. “That is not true. Some may think that cast vote records, if you have this software programmed on your machine, that it would capture all of the ballot images. It does not do that. It captures the write-in votes only.”

She said it has also been stated that, if the county’s election were to get audited, cast vote records would be the only way that process could be completed. To the contrary, she said it could not be used for anything in an audit in Minnesota other than write-in votes.

She noted that Minnesota uses paper ballots in all of its elections. The county is required to save those ballots, under lock and seal, for 22 months following the election so they could be examined in the event of an audit. Such a process could only be triggered by court order or through direction from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office.

Commissioner Mike LeMieur said he was “disappointed” that the integrity of Morrison County’s elections was being called into question due to what he said was misinformation.

“This is accusing Morrison County of not doing a proper job with their elections,” LeMieur said. “I have complete confidence in our election, complete confidence in Chelsey and (Election Supervisor) Joyce (Kahl), and these people are putting this out there. They’re on the radio, spreading false information, putting doubt in our election process. It’s very disappointing, because I have 100% confidence in our elections here in Morrison County.”

“This is, once again, another example of certain individuals talking about things that they either don’t understand or really don’t understand,” said Commissioner Greg Blaine. “Chelsey’s laid this out and I don’t know how you can make this more simple than her explanation.”

Blaine asked what would happen if — even though there is not a place for a write-in vote on the primary ballot — someone “scribbled a name on that ballot somewhere.”

Robinson said the machine would simply not read the write-in vote and it would not be recorded. At that point, the ballot would have to be spoiled and the voter would have to get a replacement ballot to vote for someone who was actually listed as a candidate.

Commissioner Jeffrey Jelinski said he agreed with LeMieur. During previous conversations with Robinson about the topic, he said, she has relayed the “exact same” information to him.

“I also, like Commissioner LeMieur, and I believe the rest of this Board, have absolutely complete confidence in our election system in Morrison County,” Jelinski said.

Robinson said the CVR software is not even installed on the machines that were used for the primary. Commissioner Mike Wilson asked if, for some reason, that program were installed and turned on, what results it would yield since there are no write-in votes.

Robinson said it would “show nothing.”

She clarified, however, that CVR may be used differently in other states. Robinson said some of those who have questioned the technology and its use have cited practices they have heard about in other states. Some states run elections much differently than Minnesota, she said.

“(In) one state versus Minnesota, they have where you have to declare your political party affiliation when you register to vote,” she said. “Here, in Minnesota, when you register to vote, you don’t declare your party affiliation. It’s private; it’s secret. That’s the beauty of Minnesota elections.”

The same is true for how different computer programs are used. Though only write-in votes are imaged by CVR in Minnesota, she said other states may use it to image the entire ballot. They also might use it during their auditing process. However, that is not the case in Minnesota because the paper ballots are kept for those purposes.

“There is a difference in states and how they use this software and how they use different machines and how they conduct elections differently,” Robinson said. “That can create mis- and disinformation if people are pulling information from different states and comparing it to Minnesota’s elections and election laws. It’s just really important to know what we have in Minnesota and what’s allowed in Minnesota.”

Blaine said he felt residents in Minnesota can feel confident that there is accountability and transparency within the elections system, and that their votes are being counted accurately.

LeMieur pointed out that Robinson has taken the time to explain all of this to some of the individuals calling Morrison County elections into question. The problem, he said, is that they don’t believe her.

“You can be open, you can be truthful, you can tell them the election laws of Minnesota and they don’t believe you,” LeMieur said. “That’s the disappointing part. She’s been to the classes, she knows what she’s doing. Joyce has been doing it for how many years? And they won’t take their advice; they won’t take the facts. They won’t listen to the facts. That’s what’s disappointing.”

Blaine said he had the utmost trust and confidence in the facts presented by Robinson and in the process itself. He said Robinson, Kahl and their staff conduct themselves and their work with the “greatest degree of professionalism.”

Further, Robinson said prior to every election, the county must conduct an accuracy test on its machines that is open to the public. For the primaries, that process took place, July 31. Two election judges from different parties go on each machine that was used in the primary to run test ballots. Included were cross-over party, blank ballots and more.

The point of the test is to ensure the machines are reading the ballots correctly and the proper errors are showing up on screen if a mistake is made.

The county also has to conduct a post-election review in November during which ballots from random precincts are pulled out and hand-counted. The results are compared against the results from the machines to ensure accuracy.

“I feel sorry for those who refuse to share the same amount of trust in the people who serve the public with such a high degree of professionalism,” he said.

"They won’t listen to the facts. That’s what’s disappointing.” - Mike LeMieur, Morrison County commissioner

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