>> CATHY: FIVE STATES HELD THEIR PRIMARY ELECTIONS THIS WEEK, AND MINNESOTA IS SET TO HAVE OUR OWN NEXT TUESDAY.

THE NOVEMBER MIDTERMS WILL BE HERE BEFORE WE KNOW IT, AND ALL OF THESE ELECTIONS ARE SET AGAINST A BACKDROP OF OFTEN PARTISAN BATTLES OVER THE INTEGRITY OF OUR VOTING SYSTEMS.

CASE IN POINT, OUR OWN COUCH WAS HOST TO A GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE LAST WEEK WHERE TWO CANDIDATES MADE SEVERAL QUESTIONABLE CLAIMS ABOUT HOW OUR STATE'S ELECTIONS ARE CONDUCTED AND ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD IN THE PAST.

THIS WEEK, WE WANT TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT, SO WE'VE INVITED JOE MANSKY TO JOIN US TONIGHT.

HE IS A FORMER STATE ELECTION DIRECTOR AND WAS ALSO AN ELECTION MANAGER FOR RAMSEY COUNTY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

WHO KNOWS MORE ABOUT ELECTIONS THAN MOST PEOPLE IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA.

GOOD TO SEE YOU.

>> NICE TO BE HERE AGAIN.

>> Cathy: HANKS.

THE TWO CANDIDATES TALKED ABOUT DEAD PEOPLE VOTING, UNDOCUMENTED PEOPLE VOTING.

FELONS VOTING.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO START?

>> WELL, LET'S TAKE THE DEAD PEOPLE.

WE GET ON A REGULAR BASIS -- WE, I'M SPEAKING OF COURSE IN THE PAST -- THAT ELECTION OFFICIALS GET ON A REGULAR BASIS THROUGH THE SECRETARY OF STATE, FROM THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, THE DEATH CERTIFICATES OF THE PEOPLE WHO PASS AWAY.

AND WHEN I WAS AT RAMSEY COUNTY, I ALSO HAD MY STAFF CHECK THE "PIONEER PRESS" AND THE "STAR RIBUNE" OBITUARIES EVERY WEEK.

SO THE IDEA THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF DEAD PEOPLE ON THE, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THE OTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM, IS COMPLETELY UNTRUE.

AS FAR AS THE, YOU KNOW, THE CONVICTED FELONS, I WAS ON GOVERNOR DAYTON'S ELECTION INTEGRITY COMMISSION A FEW YEARS BACK, AND ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE MADE WAS, LET'S LET NON-INCO INCARCERATED FELONIES VOTE.

AND SO NOW THEY DO.

SO THAT IS NOT A PROBLEM HERE IN MINNESOTA.

AND -- ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT I KNOW PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT IS THE PEOPLE HO ARE NOT CITIZENS.

AND I DID HEAR A COMMENT ABOUT PEOPLE GETTING THE DRIVER'S LICENSES AND SO OCTOBER IT'S DIRECTLY IN OUR STATE LAW.

IF YOU REGISTER TO VOTE AUTOMATICALLY AS A SEQUENCE OF EITHER GETTING A NEW LICENSE OR RENEWING ONE, IT SAYS IN BLACK AND WHITE, YOU MUST PROVIDE PROOF OF U.S.

CITIZENSHIP.

SO THE ISSUES THAT I THINK HAVE BEEN BANDIED ABOUT ARE JUST COMPLETELY WITHOUT ANY BASIS IN FACT.

>> Eric: VOTING MACHINES COME INTO QUESTION.

>> YOU KNOW, I STARTED DOING RECOUNTS, HAND COUNTS OF PAPER BALLOTS, I'M DATING MYSELF NOW, 42 YEARS AGO.

AND I -- I CAN AY THAT I HAVE LITERALLY HAND COUNTED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BALLOTS.

AND HERE'S WHAT I LEARNED FROM THAT.

THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A BUNCH OF ELDERLY PEOPLE WORKING AT 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 AT NIGHT, COUNTING THESE PAPER BALLOTS BY HAND, THAT MISTAKES WILL BE MADE.

AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS SEEING WHEN I WOULD GO OUT IN THE FIELD IN THE '80s AND '90s.

THAT I SEE WHERE THEY WERE DOING THE PAPER BALLOTS.

I WAS SEEING ON AVERAGE FIVE VOTE COUNTER ERRORS FOR EVERY THOUSAND BALLOTS I COUNTED.

WHEN WE WENT TO THE OPTICAL SCAN SYSTEM, WE REDUCED THAT FROM FIVE ERRORS PER THOUSAND TO TWO ERRORS PER 10,000.

SO JUST BY CHANGING THE TECHNOLOGY, AND TAKING AWAY THIS LABORIOUS TASK THAT WAS BEING DONE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, WE VASTLY IMPROVED THE ACCURACY OF OUR VOTE COUNTING.

WE DO NOT WANT TO GO BACKWARDS.

WE WANT TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD.

WE WANT O IMPROVE OUR TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE THE VOTE COUNTING EVEN MORE ACCURATE THAN IT IS TODAY.

>> Eric: COLEMAN-FRANKEN RECOUNT.

>> Cathy: WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THAT AFTER THE SHOW TOO.

BECAUSE WE ALL COVERED IT.

>> I WAS THERE.

>> Cathy: AND YOU WERE THERE, EXACTLY?

>> Eric: FRAUD?

>> IF THERE WAS NE, AND I HAD INFORMAL CONVERSATIONS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE A PART OF THAT INCESSANT ELECTION CONTEST THAT WENT ON FOR A LONG TIME.

BUT I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH, YOU KNOW, FORMER SENATOR KNAAK, AND WITH BEN GINSBURG AND BOTH OF THEM TOLD ME, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE LOOKING FOR INSTANCES OF FRAUD THAT THEY COULD BRING IN FRONT OF THE JUDGES.

WELL, I WAS -- I WAS IN COURT A LOT.

I SPENT EIGHT DAYS ON THE STAND DURING THAT TRIAL.

AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE INSTANCE OF FRAUD RAISED IN FRONT OF THE THREE JUDGES.

AND IF THERE HAD BEEN, GIVEN HOW CLOSE THE RACE WAS, WASN'T YOU THINK THAT SOMEONE WOULD HAVE BROUGHT IT UP?

>> Cathy: NOW IT WAS ALSO BROUGHT UP AS YOU SAW THAT THERE'S UPSET OVER THE SECRETARY OF STATE STEVE SIMON NOT HANDING OVER VOTING ROLLS TO THE FEDS.

BUT THEY SAID, OF COURSE, THAT SECRETARY SIMON HAS TO DO IT.

HE DOES NOT.

>> HE DOES NOT AS A MATTER OF FACT.

HE IS CARRYING OUT HIS STATUTORY DUTY, WHICH IS TO PROTECT YOUR DATA.

YOU KNOW, YOU FILL OUT A VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICATION WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT WHEN YOU GIVE IT TO US, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE CARE OF IT.

I MEAN, DO YOU WANT TO HAND OVER YOUR PRIVATE DATA TO US, NOT KNOWING THAT AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE WE'RE GOING TO GIVE IT OVER TO SOME OTHER PARTY WHO'S GOING TO USE IT FOR PURPOSES COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THE ELECTION ACTIVITY?

>> Eric: LIKE PAUL HARVEY -- THE REST OF THE STORY.