The following article by Britt Robson was posted on the University of Minnesota Alumni Association website as part of their Fall, 2018 issue:
Not while alumnus and Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon stands between voters and danger.
Most any Minnesota voter would recognize the thing perched in a corner of Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon’s office on the ground floor of the State Office Building adjoining the Capitol in St. Paul. It seems to be an ordinary voting booth, constructed of standard-issue blue and white plastic on metal legs, with three walls for privacy and a flat surface on which to lay your ballot.
But the voting surface in this booth is disheveled, with white paper dots littered around an open booklet. “This is from Broward County,” says Simon meaningfully. Ah, yes. Broward County, Florida, will forever be known as a battleground site for recounted ballots in the notoriously contested 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. The white paper dots attest to the fact that Floridians punched out serrated circles instead of darkening ovals with pens to make their choices. Except, the ones that clung to the ballot—the infamous “hanging chads”—sowed confusion about what voters actually intended and thus compromised the integrity of the outcome.