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He Doesn't Even Go Here
In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Scott Banister dumped more than $5 million into campaign ads opposing DFL candidates in the Minnesota House and Senate races.
Are independent expenditures of that magnitude in state legislative races from out-of-state individuals virtually unheard of? They are! That's according to Jeff Sigurdson, director of the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. “I’ve been with the board since 2000 and this is certainly unprecedented,” he tells MinnPost's Brian Arola, adding that the largest previous outside individual expenditure was in the neighborhood of $2,000 to $3,000.
Arola reports that beginning in September, Banister (and his First Amendment LLC) paid for ads in 57 key races throughout Minnesota. Banister, described as a libertarian and an early investor in PayPal, SpaceX, and Uber, lists a home in Half Moon Bay, California, on LinkedIn. That's a long ways from Silver Bay.
We don't need to tell you that the ability to use that kind of money to influence elections—especially elections that don't impact you personally—is part of what's wrong with electoral politics in this country. And Arola's kicker will make you sick: This year, Banister "was reportedly behind $40 million total in dark money directed against Democrats in Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, and other battleground states." Another odious PayPal/SpaceX vet, Elon Musk, pumped nearly a half-billion dollars into this year's midterms.
Inside Our Changing Voting Habits
Nearly a million Minnesota voters cast their ballots before Election Day this year—and yep, that's a midterm record!
Experts say it's part of a broader shift: Election Day used to be one day, and now you have several weeks to cast that ballot. For MPR News, Angela Davis spoke with Amy Perna, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, and Michael Minta, a professor and director of graduate studies in political science at the University of Minnesota, to learn about changing voting habits in the state.
Minnesota's voter participation has always been comparatively high, Minta says, thanks in large part due to our permissive voting laws. (In some states, you need to prove that you need an absentee ballot to vote early.) Early voting saw a huge jump in 2020 due to the pandemic, but it's not just that—Minta adds that there's also a renewed enthusiasm around voting in general.
Here's Your 2026 "I Voted" Sticker Map
Axios has released its 2026 map of "I Voted" stickers, and there are some really cute, state-specific designs in there: sunflowers, peaches, skylines, cowboys. Stickers in some states were designed by elementary or high school students, while in Massachusetts, you're likely to get the classic, oval-shaped sticker with a flag on it designed by Janet Boudreau back in 1987.
Minnesota's bright-red sticker might not be fancy, but it gets the job done (if the job is "letting people know that you voted"). Hey—at least it's not AI slop! And honestly... I know the semiquincentennial doesn't technically belong to the right wing, but thank god it's not one of those, either.
And Speaking of Stickers...
Voting is important, and you should do it. And also, voting can feel like an abstract, pointless, performative exercise, one that changes very little in our big dumb country. (Just me?)
If you too need a reminder that this shit does in fact matter, here's one: People have been putting their "I Voted" stickers on the Minneapolis memorials for Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Bluesky user @gallantdimwit.bsky.social first shared a photo of the stickers in a now-viral post, and more Minnesota voters have been flocking to the memorials of Pretti and Good to add theirs throughout the day.
Polls are open until 8 p.m. Don't forget to vote.
