Publisher’s Perspective

By Tim Douglas, Publisher

The simple act of voting is the cornerstone of our democracy.

And in the coming week leading up to actual Voting Day on Nov. 5, all of us should make a plan to vote.

Our completed ballots will likely differ, but that is as it is supposed to be.  Voting is private.  No one will know for whom you vote, just vote.

While Americans universally celebrate the right to vote in principle, our nation’s history has been marked by intense struggles to expand access to voting for groups that have been excluded from this basic feature of citizenship: women, African-Americans, young people and other groups. My grandmother came of age without the right to vote in America.

With that in mind, we should never take the right to vote for granted, when so many have fought so hard to make sure that it is a right that is protected for all Americans.

Voters in the November 2024 election will choose our nation’s congressional representatives, state legislators and local elected officials and vote on several important state propositions.

While most voters are focusing on the presidential election on this ballot, your vote is also very important in deciding who will run your state and local government.  And there is another question on the ballot that voters should be aware of.

A few weeks ago, this newspaper ran a news story reminding Minnesota voters that besides candidates on the ballot, they will decide on a constitutional amendment that will reauthorize the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund, a pot of money that dedicates 40% of the state lottery proceed to the outdoors. If passed, the constitutional amendment facing voters in November — Minnesota Amendment 1 — would reauthorize the ENRTF through Dec. 31, 2050.

The ENRTF has its roots in legislation passed in 1988, the same year Minnesota voters approved a state-operated lottery. As described on the Ballotpedia website, the ENRTF did not have a dedicated revenue source until 1990, when voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to dedicate at least 40% of lottery proceeds to the environment and natural resources. Voters in 1998 then approved a constitutional amendment dedicating lottery proceeds to the ENRTF until 2025.

Previous votes to reauthorize the ENRTF have garnered more than 70% support. Since 1991, the ENRTF has provided nearly $1.1 billion to more than 1,700 projects around the state, according to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. And in this question, if a voter leaves the amendment question blank, it will be counted as a “No” vote.  So, if you intend to vote “Yes” make sure you do, otherwise a blank vote is the same as a “No” vote.

To find out where you vote and how you can vote early, visit the website: https://www.sos.state.mn.us  Click on Elections and Voting and there will be a place to enter your zip code and address.  It will let you know where you vote on election day as well as how to vote early, how to register to vote and provide you a “sample ballot” in the election according to your address.

It only takes a few minutes and there is a wealth of voting information at your fingertips.  Check it out…And vote!