For Immediate Release
Date: August 08, 2025
Contact: Phillip C. Parrish, Parrish4mn.com
Minneapolis, MN – As a retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander with 21 years of experience in counterterrorism and foreign policy, and as a candidate for Governor of Minnesota in 2026, I am deeply concerned about the integrity of our state’s voter rolls. Today, I am calling renewed attention to a suspicious timeline of events that underscores the urgent need for federal intervention to expose and rectify systemic vulnerabilities in Minnesota’s election system.
The timeline speaks for itself and raises serious questions about potential efforts to obstruct transparency:
• March 25, 2025: President Donald J. Trump issues an Executive Order on Election Integrity, directing the Department of Justice to investigate voter rolls nationwide for non-citizen voting and other irregularities, emphasizing the need for proof of citizenship and stricter ballot deadlines.
• June 25, 2025: Under Attorney General Pam Bondi, the DOJ requests Minnesota’s full voter registration lists as part of this federal effort, targeting states like ours with histories of alleged fraud and discrepancies.
• July 24, 2025: A “digital security incident” – described as a targeted cyberattack, possibly ransomware – is detected in St. Paul, the state capital where the Secretary of State’s office is located. This breach disrupts city operations and prompts Governor Tim Walz to activate the National Guard’s cyber team, yet details remain opaque.
• July 25, 2025: Just one day after the cyberattack detection, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon formally denies the DOJ’s request, citing privacy concerns and a lack of legal justification, despite ongoing federal fraud investigations in our state.
This sequence is no coincidence. As I detailed in my March 16, 2025, memorandum to President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel – available at https://parrish4mn.com/2025/03/phillip-c-parrish-candidate-for-minnesota-governor-2026-calls-for-federal-investigation-into-voter-roll-inflation/ – Minnesota’s voter rolls are severely compromised. With 3.6 million registered voters against a voting-age population of 4.2 million, our system is inflated with thousands of deceased individuals, duplicates across states and residences, long-relocated voters, and potentially ineligible non-citizens enabled by automatic voter registration and no real-time verification. These issues mirror the lax oversight I exposed in Minnesota’s $250 million daycare fraud and the $250 million Feeding Our Future COVID fraud scheme, where accountability was delayed until the damage was done.
The timing of the St. Paul cyberattack, occurring mere hours before Simon’s refusal, fuels my hypothesis that this incident may be exploited as a convenient excuse to claim “lost” or “compromised” voter data, thereby continuing to hide the truth about these inflated rolls. It could serve as a pretext to avoid federal scrutiny, delay cleanups, or even evade consequences for potential criminal conduct in maintaining inaccurate registries that undermine election integrity. In a state with tight margins – like the 233,000-vote difference in 2020 – such vulnerabilities invite exploitation and erode public trust.
I urge President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and Director Patel to intensify their investigation under the National Voter Registration Act and the recent Executive Order. Amend the NVRA for real-time validation using federal databases, mandate pre-election purges, and hold noncompliant states accountable. As Governor, I will prioritize voter ID requirements, independent audits, and transparency to ensure every vote counts – and only legal votes.
Minnesotans deserve elections they can trust. The DFL leadership’s resistance, coupled with this suspicious cyber event, demands immediate federal action before the 2026 cycle.
For more information, visit Parrish4mn.com.
About Phillip C. Parrish:
Phillip C. Parrish is a retired Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, with expertise in counterterrorism and foreign policy. A proven whistleblower and advocate for systemic accountability, he is running for Governor of Minnesota in 2026 to restore trust and integrity in state governance.
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