RESOLUTION ON DEMOCRACY AND VOTING RIGHTS PASSED BY MN AFL-CIO EXECUTIVE BOARD
JANUARY 17, 2023
SUBJECT: DEMOCRACY, VOTING RIGHTS, AND VOTING ACCESS
SUBMITTED BY: Executive Officers
WHEREAS: Unions are Democracy and expanding democracy is vital to empowering and ensuring voices for those historically ignored; and
WHEREAS: We believe in building a thriving, multiracial, multicultural, multigenerational democracy in Minnesota; and
WHEREAS: We believe in strengthening the freedom to vote and participate in democratic processes for everyone who calls Minnesota home; and
WHEREAS: We believe in making our decision-making structures more accessible to more people more often; and
WHEREAS: We believe in empowering Minnesotans, not corporations or wealthy special interests, in our elections and decision making; and
WHEREAS: We believe everyone should have the freedom, fairness, and representation that our democracy promises; and
WHEREAS: The MN AFL-CIO is on record supporting restoring voting rights for persons on probation or parole so that 64,000 Minnesotans who have completed a felony sentence and are currently living in their communities can exercise their freedom to vote; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports establishing back-end automatic voter registration so that anyone who interacts with a government agency (such as the DMV) is automatically registered to vote and streamlines our registration process; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports Pre-registration of those at the age of 16 and 17 so that they are on the voter rolls when they turn 18 to increase youth engagement; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports establishing Election Day as a holiday so that working people can have guaranteed time off with no penalty to vote; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports requiring election materials be printed in multiple languages in communities ; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports making accessible ballot drop boxes available at polling locations so that voters with limited mobility or who are immune compromised have access to a secure drop location for their absentee ballots without having to wait in long lines; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports creating a system so voters can sign up as “permanent early voters” and ensure that every cycle they will get a ballot mailed to them; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports increasing in person polling locations and vote centers to increase access regardless of geography; and be it further resolved
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports protecting the ability of political party’s to expand access to caucuses by codifying in Minnesota state the ability to participate in caucuses regardless of documentation status or probation/parole status; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports expanding hours for in-person early voting so that working people can vote early outside of traditional workday hours; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports extending current requirement that election officials conduct outreach to hospitals and nursing homes to facilitate voting to include residents of assisted living facilities; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports providing local grants to make polling places more physically accessible for voters to meet all federal and state recommended requirements; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports strengthening school-based voter registration provisions to require post-secondary institutions report their required distribution of voter registration forms to students to ensure they are meeting standards; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports requiring illustrated ballot instructions be printed on the ballot for more inclusive instructions; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports committing state funding for more robust voter education to ensure resources are allocated to local community organizations to disseminate information to new and/or returning citizens to understand how our elections system operates; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports ensuring access to the federal appropriated Help America Vote Act funds for state and local elections security and infrastructure (to achieve mandatory minimum standards for states to follow in several key areas of voting: voting information, updated voting equipment, statewide voter registration databases, administrative complaint procedures) so that the Secretary of State has funding to administer our elections; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports instituting a state ban against intimidating or harassing voters and election officials to further protect voters and election officials’ safety at the polls; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports updating certification of election equipment to improve safeguards for voting equipment; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports codifying the state canvassing board’s authority to name that the highest vote getter is the winner to protect the certification of election results for the candidate voters elect to represent them; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports enhancing voter registration and streamline voter participation by creating a robust system for online voter registration ; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports closing dark money loopholes to limit corporate spending in elections
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports prohibiting foreign-influenced corporations from spending to influence the outcome of elections; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports revamping our current Political Contribution Refund (Public financing program) by creating a - democracy dollars coupon so that a $50 voucher is mailed to every eligible voter to empower them to spend money on the candidates and causes they believe in and make candidates more accountable to their voters; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports establishing small donor political committees that can work with candidates powered by grassroots contributions (definition: made up of $200 contributions or less) to support campaigns and allow individuals to work more closely with candidates on direct voter contact efforts and collect democracy dollars to give to candidates; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports creating a public process to solicit community input in how their districts are drawn and how their community receives representation in government and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports creating an independent redistricting commission to establish neutral and fair criteria to draw and evaluate maps to increase fairness and transparency in the redistricting process ; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports providing advanced public notice of maps so the public has time to respond and react to proposed maps.