League of Women Voters to host Steve Simon in Bemidji

Beltrami County voters will get a direct chance to sort through Minnesota election rules before this year’s deadlines start closing in. The League of Women Voters of the Bemidji Area will host Secretary of State Steve Simon at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21, in the council chambers at Bemidji City Hall.

The setting matters as much as the speaker. The League of Women Voters has long been identified with nonpartisan voter education, and Simon’s office is the state’s main source for official election information, including registration, voting dates and the mechanics of casting a ballot. That makes the Bemidji discussion less like a campaign stop than a practical forum for residents who want clear answers before the 2026 election cycle moves into full gear.

Those answers could come in handy quickly. Candidate filing for many Minnesota offices opens Tuesday, May 19, and runs through Tuesday, June 2 at 5 p.m. The filing windows are not the same for every office, and Secretary of State materials note that deadlines differ depending on the race, including legislative seats and state constitutional offices. For voters trying to understand who is on the ballot, when names become official and what paperwork candidates must complete, the next few weeks will matter.

The election calendar also gives Bemidji residents several other dates to track. Minnesota’s primary election is set for Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. Voting by mail or in person for the primary begins June 26 and continues through Aug. 10, and advance registration closes July 21. The general election follows on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Those are the kinds of dates that can determine whether a voter needs to register early, request a ballot or simply show up ready on Election Day.

Simon comes to Bemidji with a long record in the office. He is Minnesota’s 22nd secretary of state and was sworn in on Jan. 5, 2015. His appearance also comes after Minnesota was ranked No. 1 on MIT’s Elections Performance Index in April 2026, a point likely to surface as voters ask why the state has been held up nationally as a model for election administration.

The League of Women Voters of Minnesota has recently hosted Simon at other events on new election laws and the upcoming cycle, and the Bemidji program extends that effort into Beltrami County at a moment when many voters are trying to separate official rules from the rumors that often surround an election year.