Thursday a.m. update: Minnesota’s glaring voter privacy issue
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Minnesota’s presidential primary has a glaring privacy issue. People hoping to cast a ballot for their choice for president will have to trust the state’s major political parties — all four of them — with their name and party allegiance. That means if you vote in the Republican primary, the DFL will have your name and GOP affiliation. So will the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party and the Legal Marijuana Now Party. The parties can do whatever they like with that information. How did it get to be this way? MinnPost’s Peter Callaghan has the story.
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Speaking of marijuana, a top DFL lawmaker wants it legalized. House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler makes the case for legal weed in a Minnesota Reformer commentary: “Can anyone provide a solid argument for maintaining the current regime of criminalizing cannabis? I have been all over the state looking for one, and have not yet found it.”
Amy Klobuchar is under more pressure for an old murder case. An Associated Press investigation found new evidence and inconsistencies in the case that led Myon Burrell to be sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Tyesha Edwards, a case that Klobuchar prosecuted. Now, Edwards’ stepfather is questioning the conviction — and whether Klobuchar and others used the girl’s death for political capital.
In Iowa, many farmers remain pro-Trump. MPR News reporter Mark Zdechlik chatted with attendees at a major farm show in Des Moines and found that many farmers support the president’s efforts on trade and would never support whoever the Democrats run against him.
Minneapolis’ public housing agency has a new leader. Abdi Warsame, a former City Council member, will now lead public housing in the state’s largest city. About a third of public housing tenants are Somali, and so is Warsame. He grew up in London public housing, too. “Affordable housing played a fundamental role in my family’s ability to forge a path out of poverty,” he wrote. “It provided us with financial freedom, independence, stability and security that far too many families simply cannot achieve without assistance. Simply stated, our public housing was our refuge.”
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