Watch on Minnesota Historical Society Facebook Page

In recognition of Women's Equality Day, join us for a conversation with Joan Growe and Lori Sturdevant, authors of Turnout: Making Minnesota the State That Votes. Hosted by LWVMN executive director, Michelle Witte.

High voter turnout in Minnesota is no accident. It arose from the traditions of this state’s early Yankee and northern European immigrants, and it has been sustained by wisely chosen election policies. Many of these policies were designed and implemented during the twenty-four-year tenure of Minnesota secretary of state Joan Anderson Growe.

In inspiring and often funny prose, Growe recounts the events that framed her life and changed the state’s voting practices. She grew up in a household that never missed an election. After an astounding grassroots feminist campaign, she was elected to the state legislature in 1972; two years later, she was elected secretary of state, the state’s chief elections administrator. As one of the nation’s leading advocates for reliable elections and convenient voting, Growe worked with county officials to secure Election Day registration (used for the first time in 1974) as a Minnesota norm. She brought new technology into elections administration and promoted motor voter registration. And as an ardent feminist, she has encouraged and inspired scores of other women to run for office.

Joan Anderson Growe served as Minnesota’s secretary of state from 1975 to 1999. Widely known as an expert on voting and elections, she has served as an official election observer in various foreign elections.

Lori Sturdevant, a retired Star Tribune editorial writer, is the author of several books of Minnesota history, including Her Honor: Rosalie Wahl and the Minnesota Women’s Movement.