Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

What we saw in the Wisconsin primary last month — lines of people including seniors on walkers, in the rain, in masks, six feet apart, a half a mile from their polling place — must not happen in Minnesota this November.

Adding unfair hurdles and manipulating the rules for voting should outrage us all. The integrity of our democracy hinges on everyone getting their voice heard.

I have a health risk if I must vote in person. I prefer to mail in my ballot. Voting by absentee ballot is better than voting in person, but you still need to be closer than six feet from the clerk.

Please take action by urging the secretary of state:

1. To authorize us to vote by mail and send every registered voter a ballot

2. To maintain the opportunity to vote in person safely. If we had vote by mail, fewer of us would have to physically appear at voting sites; those voting in person could practice appropriate physical distancing while giving Minnesotans the option and security to vote in a way that makes sense for them.

3.  To allow the secretary of state to use the federal funds that Minnesota has been allocated to cover the cost of these changes, including assistance for local authorities to administer these changes. The Legislature needs to do what 49 other states have done, and ensure that the money is used to ensure that every citizen can cast a ballot safely.

Joan Anderson

Albert Lea