Immigrant Defense Network Volunteers Staff 19 'Democracy Protector' Sites Across Minnesota Through Election Week, Growing Out of the Metro Surge Observer Trainings

What happened

MPR News reported on Election Day that Immigrant Defense Network volunteers had staffed voter-information stations “every day for a week before Election Day,” at 19 sites across Minnesota, including one at East Lake Street in Minneapolis. MPR said the effort “grew out the Immigrant Defense Network’s effort to train constitutional observers,” and identified its guest, Rico Durán, as “Organizing Director of COPAL, which started the Immigrant Defense Network.”

The Minnesota Truth Council’s community-systems data report credits the network with training 35,000+ constitutional observers and says: “The training expanded to Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota.”

Why it matters

The observer network built during the Surge was still working, in a new role, on Election Day, and its training had crossed state lines.

Limits

No volunteer count is given on the MPR page, and the interview is audio only. No date or headcount is given for the out-of-state expansion. These were information stations, not observers inside polling places.