Author: Christopher J. Valentino

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesThis is part of an occasional series on election administration. Read part 1, “Who does what?” Part 2, “Who can vote in Minnesota?” Part 3: “How and why polling places are computerized.” Part 4: “How absentee voting works.”  Election workers count. Not just in the figurative sense of mattering, but in the literal sense of one, two, three. And they don’t just count votes. They routinely count all kinds of paperwork as a pervasive mechanism for ensuring elections run as they ought to. In particular, election workers check that counts that ought to match up do match up, once…

Sen. Amy Klobuchar called for both more police funding and more reform. Photo by Tasos Katopodis-Pool/Getty Images. Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and law enforcement witnesses at a Tuesday hearing blamed recent violence against officers on anti-police rhetoric, while Democrats distanced themselves from the “defund the police” slogan and said an oversupply of guns made law enforcement jobs more dangerous. Republicans on the panel raised complaints about general attitudes toward police and members of both parties criticized progressive activists’ calls to “defund the police,” which peaked after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May 2020.…

Workers in a pork processing plant, 2016. Photo courtesy of U.S. General Accountability Office. Faced with court rulings that say a Trump administration directive doesn’t protect Tyson Foods from liability caused by workers’ deaths due to COVID-19, the food giant is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter. Arguing that recent court rulings against the company will have “drastic consequences for the next national emergency,” Tyson has told the nation’s high court that private companies “will not be so eager to willingly aid the federal government in a crisis” if those rulings are allowed to…

A federal appellate court ruled in favor of unions, including Education Minnesota, of which Denise Specht is president. Courtesy photo.A federal appeals court ruled Monday that four public workers are not entitled to a refund of past union fees, a victory for government unions. The case has to do with so-called fair share fees, which unions collect from nonunion workers for bargaining and to enforce labor contracts. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that gathering “fair share” fees was unconstitutional in a landmark case called Janus v. AFSCME. Three teachers sued Education Minnesota shortly after the Janus decision, seeking…

Election administrators face their most challenging circumstances, perhaps in all of American history. Photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder. MADISON, Wis. — Elections officials from 33 states, gathered for a conference under tight security, warned that the next few election cycles will be affected by paper shortages and the potential for threats from inside elections offices. The meeting of the National Association of State Elections Directors this week was held with stringent security precautions, given the ongoing threats and harassment faced by elections officials across the country in the years since the 2020 election.  Organizers didn’t publicly share the location of…

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 7: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) gives the thumbs up as he leaves the Senate Chamber after passage of the Inflation Reduction Act at the U.S. Capitol August 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Senate worked overnight Saturday into Sunday as they moved toward final passage of Senate budget reconciliation deal, which Senate Democrats have named The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The final vote was 51-50, with the tie-breaking vote being cast by Vice President Kamala Harris. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate, along party lines, passed a sweeping energy,…

Getty Images.A county attorney in west-central Minnesota filed a motion Thursday to appeal a ruling that strengthened Minnesota abortion rights. Traverse County Attorney Matthew Franzese — through the law firm the Thomas More Society — said the motion to intervene comes after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced last week that he will not appeal a Ramsey County judge’s ruling that expanded abortion access in the state. The Thomas More Society is a conservative law firm that has litigated issues including election administration, abortion rights and vaccine mandates. The Ramsey County judge last month struck down laws related to parental…

More than 6,600 monkeypox cases have been reported in the United States, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Photo Courtesy of CDC/Getty Images. WASHINGTON —  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced Thursday a public health emergency for the monkeypox virus, which means the federal government can more quickly assist states with distributing vaccines and conducting testing and public health campaigns.  “We’re prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this virus, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously and to take responsibility to help us…

Photo of a burn pit, via U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. WASHINGTON —  The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed bipartisan legislation that would provide health care and benefits to millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances while deployed overseas, after many Republicans switched their votes and decided to once again back the legislation. The shift came after days of protest and vigils outside the U.S. Capitol, in heat and rain, by veterans outraged at the delay in passage of the $280 billion measure due to objections from Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey. Veterans advocacy groups were intensely critical of the delay…

Dr. Nathan Chomilo is the medical director for the Minnesota’s version of Medicaid. Courtesy photo. As a kid, Nathan Chomilo watched his parents — a nurse and pharmacist who immigrated from Cameroon to Minnesota — give health advice to people while out at community events. “They were always wearing their pharmacist or nurse hat,” said Chomilo. “I really respected that and looked for my own way to help folks and also be part of the community.” Today, Chomilo is a pediatrician at HealthPartners Park Nicollet and the medical director for Minnesota’s Medicaid program — known as Medical Assistance — a role he assumed…