The Secretary is known for traveling to all 87 counties in Minnesota to meet with and listen to Minnesotans, and this year will be his 9th trip doing so since he was elected in 2015. During the event, Secretary Simon shared that hearing directly from people around the state is one of the best parts of his job. He added that he is preparing to begin the 87-county tour for the tenth time next year.

A key focus of the discussion was the state's elections and voter engagement efforts. The Secretary of State's office is Minnesota's election administrator, responsible for certifying equipment, providing legal advice on election-related topics, conducting audits, and certifying election results. However, it does not count ballots, a task performed by the state's approximately 30,000 election judges.

Secretary Simon shared that Minnesota has historically high voter turnout, a success that he attributed to state laws such as the ability for residents to register on Election Day, strong statewide voter values and culture, and the fact that many schools host mock elections to engage younger students. Cook County was recognized as being "top of the top" among counties in the state for voter turnout. He also talked about Minnesota's record on ballot security, noting that he was not aware of any cases of mail-in ballot fraud or theft since he took office. He credited this to the many levels of checks and balances in place. 

As part of the voting discussion, the topic of engaging young voters came up. Secretary Simon mentioned that his office has made efforts to instill a "lifelong habit" of voting in Minnesota, including pre-registration for 16 and 17-year-olds, which automatically registers a young person at midnight on their 18th birthday. The office also promotes student involvement through youth voter outreach and the Student Election Judges program, which allows 16 and 17-year-olds to be paid for their service and be excused from school on Election Day. Secretary Simon shared that many people don't realize that, for those over 18, there is no geographic limit to serving as an election judge. Those ages 16 or 17 can serve as an election judge in their own county or an adjacent county. 

Another significant area of the Secretary of State's responsibilities is business services, which, by headcount, is the largest division of the office, according to Secretary Simon. This division handles filings for new and used businesses and provides public access to information, such as the Minnesota Business Snapshot, which offers interactive reports for free.