Overview
- The Upper Midwest Law Center filed a petition for the City of Oak Grove on Thursday asking the Minnesota Supreme Court to let the city use paper voter rosters in the 2026 general election and to overrule actions by Anoka County and the Minnesota secretary of state.
- Oak Grove says it gave the legally required notice before switching from electronic rosters and that it wants paper lists for reasons of cost, security and reliability, though the city will use electronic rosters for the upcoming primary because of timing.
- The petition names Secretary of State Steve Simon, Anoka County elections director Tom Hunt, and county official Pam LeBlanc as respondents and asks the court to clarify whether cities or counties control roster format for state and federal contests.
- Oak Grove alleges county officials threatened city election workers with criminal prosecution if they used paper rosters, a claim included in the petition that local reporters say they have asked county and state offices to address.
- A ruling for Oak Grove would set a legal precedent on local control of polling procedures across Minnesota and would affect how precincts verify voter registrations and track who has voted in November.