Minnesota Secretary of State launches new voter participation campaign

(ABC 6 News) – The new “Here We Vote” campaign is designed to give the average voter everything they need to inform themselves and their community about how, when, and where to vote and it’s all in the hopes of reclaiming a position Minnesota held for many years.

Historically, Minnesota has been the number one place in the country in terms of voter turnout, taking the top spot in three of the last four general elections.

This month’s primary, however, was far more lackluster, with only 12% of voters statewide showing up.

However, Secretary of State Steve Simon says that’s not indicative of how Minnesotans will vote in a few months.

“In the general election, it’s different,” he said. “Minnesotans really stand up and step up and it doesn’t matter to most Minnesotans whether it’s a close contest or not, they will vote because they really believe in voting.”

The lowest voter turnout for a primary election happened back in 2016, which was also a presidential election year. Around 8% of voters participated in that years primary, but almost 75% showed up for the general.

“We just have to nurture and foster and continue that.”

The new campaign will officially kick off on Thursday, alongside the start of the state fair.

It will primarily direct people to the state’s hub of election information, mnvotes.gov.

However, the campaign has also put together a variety of digital tools, like hashtags, graphics, and other materials, to be used on social media.