Clean Elections Minnesota · Taking Action for Fairness and Justice

“We can either have democracy in this country, or we can have extreme wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.” – Justice Brandeis

“The government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result.” – Former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

“No one will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“For this nation to remain true to its principles, we cannot allow any American's vote to be denied, diluted, or defiled. The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties, and we will not see its luster diminished.” – Ronald Reagan

Clean Elections Minnesota is a non-profit, non-partisan group of Minnesotans concerned that the power of Big Money, Dark Money, and Corporate Money is overwhelming the public interest in local, state, and national elections. We're dedicated to educating ourselves and others about ways to maintain and enhance the democratic power of ordinary citizens. Follow us on Twitter (@CleanMinnesota) and like us on Facebook.

For more about our activities since incorporating as a 501c3 in 2017, click on the Our Accomplishments link under "About" in the menu bar at the of this page.

To contribute online, click the donate button. To donate by mail, make a check payable to Clean Elections Minnesota and mail to Clean Elections MN Treasurer, 292 Ryan Avenue., Saint Paul, MN 55102. If you're in a retirement account and old enough to be subject to an annual required minimum distribution (RMD), you can reduce your taxable income by having all or part of the RMD sent directly from your retirement account to Clean Elections MN (or any other organization whose donations are tax deductible).

Latest Posts

Judicial Redistricting Panel Holding Hearings

In June the state Supreme Court appointed a special redistricting panel to hear testimony and decide challenges to redistricting maps. The panel has scheduled nine in-person hearings from October 11 – 21 and a Zoom hearing on October 26. Each of the in-person hearings takes place in a different location. Requests for oral presentation were due in September, but written statements will be accepted until October 29. For details about locations and how to participate, click here. While in the past court-appointed panels have helped prevent extreme gerrymandering in Minnesota like that in, for example, Wisconsin, the panel’s mandated is limited. They need to hear testimony representing the wishes of communities, especially those likely to lack representation.

Redistricting Webinar with Peter Wattson and Lori Sturdevant

On September 28, Peter Wattson explained the process of drawing new district maps based on population changes determined by the 2020 census. Responding to questions posed by journalist and author Lori Sturdevant, Wattson clarified the importance of the redistricting process, sketched its checkered history in Minnesota, explained the political pressures that drive interested legislators to distort maps in the interest of themselves and favored constituents, and described a process that could eliminate the inherent conflicts that drive legislators. The entire webinar is available on YouTube: Click here to watch. To study Peter’s Powerpoint slides click: MN Redistricting 2021-09-28 full-page color.

A handout is available here:”MN Redistricting 2021-09-28 B&W handout.

Redistricting is not only a crucial element in keeping our democracy consistent with changes in population, it has elements of drama and intrigue. Check it Wattson and Sturdevant’s excellent show. And then contact your legislator to weigh in. (See below for details on participation.)

Democracy depends on all of our efforts.

George Beck writes for LWVMN May newsletter

An essay about Clean Elections MN by George Beck appears in the May 2021 issue of the Minnesota League of Women Voters’ “All Member News.” Scroll down to find CEM Chair Beck’s essay in the “Partner Spotlight.” On the way there, you can stop to learn about Asian Pacific Heritage Month (May), Sweet Potato Comfort Pie, what’s up in the legislature, and other news and events. We’re proud to be in such excellent company. Want to know more about Minnesota’s League–or donate? Click here.

Nancy MacLean Zooms Again

Last Fall we hosted a fascinating conversation with Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains, a finalist for the National Book Award, about the decades-long campaign the well-financed radical right has conducted to subvert our democracy. On May 19th of this year MacLean was interviewed by Don Shelby and Sam Grant, Executive Director of MN350. Rep Emma Greenman also participated. Professor MacLean traces the roots of this radical attack on our shared values to the racist reaction against Brown v. Board of Education–and even before to John C. Calhoun, “Marxist of the Master Class.” Published in 2017, the book now looks prescient; to its readers, the attack on our 2020 election and the assault on the capitol in D.C. was shocking, but should not have been completely surprising. In her interview with Don Shelby, as before, MacLean combined her dire warning about the perils of our fragile democracy with an engagingly upbeat demeanor. Like previous Happy Warrior politicians, she calls for collective action of the sort that ended slavery in the 19th century and led to the New Deal in the 20th. Participatory democracy is the antidote to personal despondency as well as economic depression.

Sponsor: Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers.

So-sponsored by Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota, Indivisible MN03, Plymouth Area Indivisible, Minnesota Peace Project, MN Move to Amend, Spotlight Team, Women Against Military Madness, and, of course Clean Elections Minnesota.