Severson from an MPR photograph
by Steve Timmer
Oct 23, 2014, 10:30 AM

Dan Severson’s Brave New World of Voting

Republican Secretary of State candidate Dan Severson has obviously taken too many hard carrier landings. It’s causing him to hallucinate about voter fraud. Here’s Severson talking about the race:

In his campaign, Severson has repeatedly said he believes there is fraud in Minnesota’s election system and that election protection is key. Once a backer of requiring Minnesotans to have a photo ID to vote, he has pitched a new “express lane” voting system that would allow Minnesotans willing to present identification to skip through Election Day lines.

“This is another way in which we can secure our system and actually accommodate the voters more effectively,” Severson said in a recent forum.

He not only has said there is “fraud” in the voting system; he believes the voter system data is “corrupt.” Severson says he “looked at the data.” He offered no proof, of course.

Dan Severson is a dangerous demagogue. He ought to be kept as far away from democracy as possible. In fact, he doesn’t even believe we live in one.

People can say until they pass out from lack of air that voter impersonation is not a problem in Minnesota, in spite of Severson’s imaginings, and that’s the only kind a photo ID would address.

An Express Lane™ for voting would further erode the idea that everyone is equal before the law.

Perhaps Severson could also see a system of Concierge Voting™ with an escort to take you from your limo to the booth, for a fee. Several booths would be dedicated for this purpose; it would lengthen the line for the hoi polloi standing in the rain, but that’s breaks.

(It wouldn’t be a poll tax, you see, because you could wait in the endless line if you didn’t possess the right identification, even though you were registered.)

It would be decent to tip the voter escort, of course, based on the number of people, especially those with walkers or strollers, who had to be muscled aside.

Severson is a common vote suppressor. He’s also GOP candidate, but that’s almost redundant to mention.

Thanks for your feedback. If we like what you have to say, it may appear in a future post of reader reactions.