Saint Paul City Councilmember Dai Thao faces gross misdemeanor and other charges for allegedly driving an elderly voter to the polls and helping her mark the ballot while he was a candidate for mayor. The voter told investigators that Thao informed her of each candidate’s name but did not tell her whom to vote for. Thao’s attorney says his client is accused of assisting a single elderly woman from the Hmong community overcome a language barrier to exercise her right to vote — something that’s perfectly legal.
Thao said in a statement that when the woman told him she wanted to vote but had no one to take her, he drove her to the polls. “When we got there and she asked for my help because no one else spoke Hmong and she couldn’t see well or hold a pen, I couldn’t say no,” Thao said.