George "Chip" Tangen

Chip Tangen will bring a third-party perspective as Minnesota's Secretary of State. Republicans and Democrats can trust his independence. Everyone else will have a leader who fights for them, too.

The state’s chief elections officer ought to be nonpartisan, and yet we have a history of empowering partisans to serve as Minnesota's secretary of state. To ensure fair play in a Vikings-Packers game, we would never stand for one team to hire the referees. Why should our standard for judging sporting events be higher than for our elections? Chip Tangen is neither a Democrat nor a Republican, so voters who back either major party can count on his impartiality. Minnesota should inspire the nation to elect secretaries of state who are unbound from the major political parties.

A January 2026 Gallup poll reveals 45% of Americans identify as political independents. In Minnesota we rarely have an opportunity to vote for a candidate other than a Democrat or a Republican because our ballot access laws are among the least progressive in the country. Despite regularly leading the nation in voter turnout, many eligible voters stay home: at least 20% in presidential election years and 40% in other years! With additional choices on the ballot, more Minnesotans would have a reason to vote. For too long, Minnesota's secretaries of state have ignored the interests of independent voters. If elected, Chip Tangen will spearhead reforms to eliminate barriers preventing independent and minor party candidates from appearing on the ballot. Voters deserve more choices!

Voting policy should be guided by two core principles: maximum participation and maximum security. Each major party follows one but not the other. We can achieve both objectives by following Ronald Reagan's counsel: "Trust, but verify." Anyone who wants to vote should be free to do so without unnecessary impediments. They should not be turned away on Election Day because their name doesn’t appear on the voter roll. Same-day registration and even vouching for your neighbor are common-sense solutions to maximize voter participation. However, election judges may not be able to ascertain whether such individuals are truly eligible to vote on Election Day. The completed ballots of these voters should be received and counted once their eligibility can be confirmed. This may take days, but it is the only way to have maximum participation and security.

Administer Minnesota elections independently of the Democratic and Republican parties.

• Preserve the candidate's institutional-independence objective without inferring a statutory change.

Spearhead reforms eliminating barriers that prevent independent and minor-party candidates from appearing on Minnesota ballots.

• Preserve the explicit ballot-access commitment and covered candidate groups.

Guide voting policy by the twin principles of maximum participation and maximum security.

• Preserve the candidate's stated framework as a belief rather than a detailed mechanism.

Preserve same-day voter registration so eligible voters are not turned away solely because their names are absent from the voter roll.

• Preserve the named participation mechanism and eligibility qualification.

Preserve voter vouching as an option for eligible Minnesota voters.

• Preserve the candidate's explicit support without inventing new verification rules.

Receive ballots from people whose eligibility cannot be confirmed on Election Day and count them once eligibility is verified.

• Preserve the timing and verification conditions stated by the candidate.