Midwest
Trump DOJ demands Minnesota voting records over same-day registration ‘vouching’ concerns
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President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is demanding records from Minnesota related to its voter registration practices, raising concerns about the state’s same-day “vouching” policy.
The policy allows a registered voter to “vouch” for up to eight people seeking same-day registration, and it has come under fresh scrutiny amid broader concerns about election integrity in the wake of Minnesota’s massive welfare fraud scandal.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon on Friday, requesting unredacted records covering the March 2024 primary and the November 2024 general election.
Dhillon called on the state to hand over digital records related to same-day registrations, votes cast by same-day registrants and audit and compliance records under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
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The Minnesota State Capitol building. The U.S. Justice Department has written to the state demanding records related to Minnesota’s same-day voter registration practices amid concerns about the state’s same-day “vouching” policy. (Steve Karnowski)
“The basis and purpose of this demand is to ensure Minnesota’s registration and voting practices are in compliance with federal law, particularly the minimum requirements under HAVA,” Dhillon wrote in the letter she shared on X.
“The Department of Justice is particularly concerned with votes and registrations accepted on the basis of ‘vouching’ from other registered voters or residential facility employees, as well as other same-day registration procedures.”
Minnesota’s election system has drawn scrutiny after legislation signed by Gov. Tim Walz in 2023 that provided for “Driver’s Licenses for All,” allowing state-issued licenses regardless of immigration status. The policy also stipulates that the licenses carry no markings indicating citizenship, even though such IDs are among the forms of identification accepted during voter registration.
Minnesota law separately allows same-day voter registration through a process known as “vouching,” under which a registered voter can attest to the residency of up to eight other voters who want to register on Election Day and do not present qualifying identification.
According to an official fact sheet from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office, the registered voter must accompany the person or people to the polling place and sign an oath verifying a home address.
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A sign outside a polling place in Minneapolis. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has cited concerns about the state’s vouching policy that allows one voter verify residency for eight others. (Stephen Maturen)
“A registered voter can vouch for up to eight voters. You cannot vouch for others if someone vouched for you,” the department said in the fact sheet.
Residents who are not vouched for and who want to vote on the same day must provide at least one form of identity verification, including a valid Minnesota driver’s license or learner’s permit, a receipt for either or a tribal identification card that includes a photo and signature.
So long as the prospective voter can prove residency, the proof of ID can include a driver’s license or learner’s permit from any state, a passport, an expired ID, a military ID or a Minnesota college or high school identification card.
If a person is registered to vote in a precinct but changed his name or moved within the precinct, the voter may still vote after informing the precinct election judge of a previous name or address.
The “vouching” policy was signed into law by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. (Getty Images)
Simon’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
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Dhillon’s move was praised by Republican activist Scott Presler, who leads voter registration efforts nationwide.
“WOW! This is huge. Thank you so, so much,” Presler wrote in response to Dhillon’s X post sharing her letter.
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Detroit, MI
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Milwaukee, WI
Brewers Are Making a Mistake With Andrew Vaughn’s Playing Time
There are few things that the Milwaukee Brewers haven’t done right so far in 2026.
Milwaukee has navigated difficult injuries all season and yet it is 49-29 and has the second-best record in baseball behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (52-29) heading into an important series against the Chicago Cubs. How many teams out there could accomplish this feat when guys like Andrew Vaughn Christian Yelich, Quinn Priester, Jackson Chourio, and Brandon Woodruff all missed significant time at various points in the season? These are legit, star-level pieces and the Brewers navigated the losses admirably.
Right now, all of them are healthy, except Priester. The young starter will miss the entire season. Now, Milwaukee is firing on all cylinders and yet it could be even better. Soon enough, Logan Henderson will be back. Also, the offense would arguably be even better if Vaughn was given more opportunities. Since May 4, Vaughn is only eighth on the team in plate appearances, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Despite this, Vaughn has done nothing but tear the cover off the ball. In 39 games, he has slashed .355/.444/.542 with a .987 OPS, two homers, 12 doubles, and 23 RBIs. That’s the type of production you need in the lineup every night, regardless.
The Brewers Need To Give Andrew Vaughn More Time
Brewers manager Pat Murphy acknowledged that Vaughn has had a weakness with some righties, as transcribed by Hogg.
“Heavy east-west sometimes is more troublesome for him,” Murphy said. “But for him this year you can look at it and go, ‘Yeah, against the two-seamer he’s been [worse]. But what about the times against the two-samer that he took it and got something else? You don’t get credit for being good against the two-seamer when you take it. You only get dinged when you swing at it.”
Still, this is a guy batting .355 since May 4. He’s obviously not perfect, but Milwaukee’s offense is better with him in it. Even if the club has to get creative. Jake Bauers has made his mark this season and needs playing time as well and both play first base, among others. Throughout Vaughn’s career, he has seen time at third base, second base, left field and right field, along with first base. Throughout the season to this point, there’s been chatter about how the Brewers haven’t had enough offense on the left side of the infield.
They recently promoted Cooper Pratt to play shortstop, so third base has been handled by David Hamilton and Joey Ortiz. Maybe a good idea could be trying to shift Vaughn to third base for the time being because they could then get his bat and Bauers’ bat in the lineup consistently. In that scenario, the Brewers could also consistently roll with an outfield of Chourio in left field, Garrett Mitchell in center field, and Sal Frelick in right field.
At the end of the day, the Brewers need Vaughn’s bat in the lineup every day. If you can bat .355 over a 39-game stretch, you deserve significant playing time.
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Minneapolis, MN
Affordable senior housing revived at 600 Main St. SE
The Blueprint
A team led by Lupe Development Partners and Wall Cos. wants to bring more than 100 units of affordable senior housing to a triangular parking area near the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, the latest version of a yearslong effort to redevelop the site.
On Thursday, the Minneapolis Planning Commission Committee of the Whole reviewed plans for the five-story, 104-unit building at 600 Main St. SE. The project would require a comprehensive plan amendment, rezoning and other approvals.
Jess Olstad, a city spokesperson, said in an email that the committee took no formal action.
“The next step for the project team will be to conduct public engagement around their potential comprehensive plan amendment, and to prepare their land use applications for submittal,” Olstad said.
Steve Minn, vice president and chief financial manager of Lupe Development, said Friday that the project received “very positive feedback” from the committee.
“We’re just going to proceed with the rest of our application, which will be in the next week or so,” said Minn, who added that the proposed location is a “perfect site for housing” and that “senior housing is a need.”
A comprehensive plan amendment would require Metropolitan Council review. If the approval process goes well and financing comes together next year, the project could break ground in 2028, Minn said.
A 58-space “principal parking facility” currently occupies the 37,401-square-foot development site, which is framed by Sixth Avenue Southeast, Main Street Southeast, and a railroad property, according to a city staff report.
The project would primarily offer one-bedroom units, though the mix would also include some two-bedroom dwellings and efficiencies. Thirty-nine stalls of underground parking are also planned.
Located near the Stone Arch Bridge trailhead in the Mississippi River Critical Area Overlay District, the project would be “compatible with the surrounding neighborhood architecture,” according to a narrative submitted on behalf of the developer.
The plan includes site improvements such as structured parking and pedestrian spaces, and a new public trail, which would connect to existing Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board trails in Father Hennepin Bluffs Park.
According to the developer’s narrative, the project “represents a reinvestment in a privately owned, undeveloped parcel that is not used for park purposes and is not planned for acquisition.”
The project would align the property’s “land use, built form, and Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area Overlay District designations with the surrounding urban context and applicable regulatory framework,” the narrative states.
Wall Cos. and Lupe Development Partners, doing business as Bluff Street Development, have long wanted to redevelop 600 Main St. SE. In 2023, the developers pitched a plan for 80 affordable housing units on the site.
The developers’ history with the site goes back as far as 2009, when they proposed separate plans for a 98-unit and a 79-unit apartment project, as previously reported. In 2010, Bluff Street sued the city after the City Council rejected the plans. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2011.
When development efforts first started, the Mississippi River Critical Corridor Area rules and regulations had not been defined, and “there was a lot of angst in the community” about what those regulations would be, Minn said.
Those regulations are now “well defined,” clearing the way for development, he said.
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