St. Paul, MN – As almost half the states in the union prepare to go to the polls next week for the round of primary elections known as "Super Tuesday," a nonpartisan group is urging voters to "dig beneath the surface" when evaluating the national candidates.

The group has been tracking candidates' positions on major issues, with the goal of encouraging Minnesotans to become informed and turn out to vote, as their state joins 23 others in selecting nominees for the presidency.

Amy McDonough, spokeswoman for AARP Minnesota, one of the organizations involved in the effort, says people need to find out exactly where candidates stand, especially on the two issues voters say are the most important: healthcare and financial security.

"There are too many American families that are living just one healthcare crisis away from bankruptcy. And, this is people's biggest worry: how are they going to continue to pay for healthcare costs that rise at such an abominable pace?"

She says AARP has launched a national campaign called "Divided We Fail," to pin down candidates' positions on specific issues and make the answers public, online and by mail. It's an effort McDonough says has received wide, bipartisan support, from the business community, labor, nonprofit organizations and senior groups, because they all want to keep people healthy and the economy strong. She adds the healthcare issue is key in this election year.

"This is an issue that has now affected all American families. It doesn't just affect low-income people. These are working people who struggle to pay for healthcare. These are people who are nearing their retirement, and are afraid they're not going to have enough money to live on for the rest of their life. These are true stories, and we need to have the candidates understand that they must address these issues right away."

She says the "Divided We Fail" goal is to encourage voting and make sure candidates' positions are on the record and easily accessible. The informational campaign also has support from more than 200 members of Congress, including the Minnesota delegation, as well as most of the presidential candidates. She hopes they follow their support - with action.

"We believe that, although candidates are talking about health and financial security, we can't emphasize to them enough that they need to take action on these issues. They need to hear personally from people, and this is your chance to have your voice heard on these issues."

The candidate and issue guide is available online, at: www.dividedwefail.org




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Alabama civic-engagement groups are searching for strategies to maintain voter engagement outside of major election years.

As candidates gear up for the runoff election in Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, grassroots organizations such as Faith in Action Alabama are finding ways to amplify residents' voices and address critical issues.

Muaath Al-Khattab, community organizer at the Montgomery hub for Faith in Action Alabama, said they are shifting efforts to fostering civic participation beyond election cycles.

"We wanted to transition from a strictly election-based type of phone banking to a year-round phone banking," Al-Khattab explained. "Where we have voter engagement and voter education throughout the year as opposed to right before elections."

He pointed out the goal is to target diverse demographics including youths, middle-aged adults and seniors. Through targeted outreach and education initiatives, Faith in Action Alabama seeks to bridge gaps in voter knowledge and foster civic participation across the state, especially for local races.

Beyond the ballot box, Al-Khattab noted advocacy is extending to pressing issues such as community safety. He highlighted their push for voting restoration and gun-violence reduction programs.

"We try to educate people on this community involvement," Al-Khattab emphasized. "Whether it be what we call the night walks, which is going through at-risk or high-risk areas of gun violence, and just kind of strengthen the bonds with the communities, and then also pushing for publicly funded community violence intervention programs."

The group is also lobbying for bills to help reduce barriers to voting for people previously incarcerated. Al-Khattab added he sees their initiatives as vital steps toward fostering a fairer and more inclusive electorate. He stressed their work extends across their offices in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery, with established hubs in areas such as Tuskegee, Phenix City, Greenville and Selma.

A new report examines election official turnover since 2000 and found it's something that has been increasing steadily and might continue to rise.

Rachel Orey, senior associate director of the Elections Project with the Bipartisan Policy Center, is among several researchers who dove into the issue. She said their analysis draws on an original dataset of more than 18,000 local chief election officials across more than 6,000 jurisdictions in all 50 states.

Orey said local election officials around the nation have experienced intense levels of scrutiny and hostility, especially prevalent in certain states such as Arizona.

"We know that counties like Maricopa have been in the limelight, and it makes it challenging when these election officials are receiving a lot of public scrutiny. We had an official in Maricopa County last year come out publicly and say that he was experiencing PTSD," she explained.

According to the report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received more than 1,000 tips about threats to election workers since June of 2021, 11% of which warranted the FBI opening an investigation. The agency deemed Arizona as one of the states with "an unusual level of threats to election workers."

But Orey said turnover is being seen nationwide. While the report states it "discourages" legislators from making statutory changes in an election year, they can still help ensure officials have adequate resources and funding to do their jobs.

Despite the high turnover rates, Orey said there is no cause for concern when it comes to the integrity of elections, including the likely high-stakes rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Orey said their research shows 65% of local election officials have experience administering a presidential election.

"Where there are new officials, we find that they have an average of eight years of experience in an election office. Typically that looks something like a deputy clerk position where they're supporting that chief election official. "

The report recommends investing in training and mentorship, evaluating training programs as well as calls for developing comprehensive systems for capturing institutional knowledge to not only mitigate the immediate impacts of turnover, but promote a more resilient election official workforce over time.


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It just got easier for Hoosiers to study who is running in the upcoming May primary.

The Indiana Citizen, a nonpartisan news platform, has published its election guide to help make sense of the thousands of candidates whose names will appear on ballots.

Bill Moreau, its publisher, said this is the fourth election in which The Indiana Citizen has participated, but it is its first primary election. He hopes voters will use the online tool to improve the state's civic health.

"Indiana continues to be ranked among the very bottom for voter registration, civic literacy and turnout," Moreau pointed out. "We wanted to do something to contribute toward the civic health but also providing unbiased information to voters."

According to Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales, voter turnout voter turnout for Indiana in the last comparable election in June 2020 was 24-percent.

The Indiana Citizen is working with Franklin College and The Statehouse File and will provide election results in November. The partnership is the result of the Free Press Indiana initiative.

Moreau noted the goal is to display every candidate's name -- from president to state convention delegates -- on any Indiana voter's primary ballot.

"That will permit voters to, just by typing in their address, find out who's on their ballot and click on the name and go to the information about that candidate," Moreau explained.

Early voting is underway through May 6 in Indiana.


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