MN Secretary Of State Steve Simon Visits Bemidji High School

Minnesota Secretary Of State Steve Simon paid a visit to Bemidji High School this morning to talk about the importance of getting out to vote.

The Secretary of State spoke to BHS’s Advanced Placement American Government and Politics class, which has about 23 students. Along with talking about voting, he also highlighted the issues of election and cyber security. He says his office has been working hard to make sure all voter information is safe and secure.

Simon says, “I learned really early on that you can’t do this job well by just sitting in an office or in a bubble in St. Paul, so I particularly like getting out to schools; high schools and colleges because they’ve been a focus of the work of our office for the last few years. We’re trying to get good habits started early; trying to tell people about the importance of voting and how easy it really is these days to register and to vote.”

Towards the end of the speech, the Secretary of State opened up the floor for questions. The students then discussed their feelings about politics both on the state and federal level. Simon even gave them his email so they could continue the conversation.

Jeff Aas, AP Government and Politics Teacher at BHS, says, “I thought that was what the most important is that the kids had a chance to be heard from the Secretary of State. They got to voice their ideas, opinions and just, he reiterated the point that it’s important to vote, and I think another good message for the kids to hear too that as young voters, it’s important to get out there and vote.”

The Secretary of State wasn’t only in Bemidji – earlier in the morning, he stopped by the Leech Lake Tribal Office. He also visited Detroit Lakes and The League Of Women Voters in Park Rapids.