Minneapolis polling places will have extra security this year

The city of Minneapolis will have some additional security at polling places for this year's election.

Elections officials are posting personnel from Whelan Security at most of the city's 132 polling places next Tuesday.

Minneapolis is relying on a provision in state law that allows election administrators to deploy a "sergeant-at-arms" at polling places, City Clerk Casey Carl said.

"They're not armed. They aren't peace officers. They're not law enforcement. They don't have weapons. They're door keepers," Carl said. "They're there to help the election judges maintain order."

It's an expansion of a practice the city initiated two years ago, during the contentious primary for the District 60B state House seat, held by DFLer Phyllis Kahn for more than 40 years.

That race featured, among other things, a scuffle at the DFL precinct caucuses in February 2014.

Extra staff were on hand again for this year's primary, Carl said, when Ilhan Omar beat out Kahn to end her 23 terms in the Legislature.

Carl also noted that the presidential election this year has included calls for observers to monitor voting for election fraud or other illegal activity.

"Help Me Stop Crooked Hillary From Rigging This Election!" says a headline on a page on Donald Trump's campaign website, urging people to sign up to be election observers.

Poll watching isn't legal in Minnesota, however.

State law allows election challengers, but only if the challenger has been appointed in writing by a party or candidate. The law requires they have personal knowledge of why someone is ineligible to vote and alert judges in writing about their suspicions. It bars them from approaching voters.

"The idea of a general poll watcher who's in there and just watching everything and anything happening, and monitoring and reporting that's not allowed in Minnesota," Carl said. "It is allowed in some states, but you can't do that uniformly across all 50 states."

As the chief election official in the city, Carl said he made the decision to deploy the extra security, but he did consult with the City Council. He said he didn't have an estimate of the cost because it isn't clear yet how long polls will be open — law allows anyone in line at 8 p.m. to still cast a ballot, no matter how long it takes.

Minneapolis had an existing security contract with Whelan, which works for the city at the Minneapolis Convention Center and for other events, Carl said.

St. Paul won't have additional security on Election Day, according to Ramsey County Elections Manager Joe Mansky.