As this is not really a Minneapolis issue -- unless we do see some
allegation of voter fraud in Minneapolis -- I am going to respond and then
drop it. If you wish to respond, address me directly. If I get enough
responses we can start our own Bash-Kiffmeyer-Issues list separate from the
Minneapolis-Issues list.
I am not connected with Mary's office, but did read about and agree with,
Mary Kiffmeyer's point that the law says caucuses are on Tuesday. As an
official of the state the Secretary of State is required to follow laws. We
do need to change the laws concerning caucuses, but until then state
officials must follow the existing laws. I agree with you that the content
of the caucus notices was intentional. It directed people to caucuses held
according to current law. The DFL's caucuses this year were an invitation
to real problems, and it is to Minnesotan's credit that we didn't get them.
Concerning Missouri, the federal judge in that case was Dick Gephardt's
former chief of staff who ruled that the polls be held open. I don't know
her personally, but I believe she has a partisan bent, if not an ideological
bent.
We will never know if there was or was not fraud in past Minnesota
elections, as Joan Growe refused to do anything more than quote herself in
saying that we didn't have election fraud. As I say this, I know of one
coworker who voted in a precinct he formerly lived in because it was easier
than reregistering, and a second who alleges that he voted in several
precincts in the early nineties. Stuff like this should not be difficult -
it should be impossible.
Secretary Kiffmeyer directly contacted the firms that rent the voting
machines, and set up a contract which all of the separate counties could
sign onto, giving bulk quantity pricing to all of the counties and not just
the big ones. So all of the counties were able to afford machines which
catch the spoiled ballots before the voter left the poll. Considering the
number and likelihood of spoiled ballots vs fraud, I contend that his alone
has done far more to make our elections better than anything Joan Growe had
done.
Rich Chandler - Ward 9
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lynnell Mickelsen
> Well, I don't know about Russell, but I certainly do. Mary Kiffmeyer is a
> conservative Republican who has made the Secretary of State's office a
> highly partisan enterprise. Her point--and she's cagey, but still pretty
> explicit---is that voting is a high honor and we don't need to make it too
> easy for people.
>
> Remember last year, when the Sec. of State's office, sent out a state-wide
> mailing about caucus times on Tuesdays----and failed to mention that the
> Democrats were holding their caucuses on a Saturday? Her office was
> well-aware of the difference. This wasn't an "accidental" mistake. I
> wrote to Kiffmeyer's office and complained about use of state funds to
> publicize caucus times primarily for Republicans. Never got a response.
>
> Unlike Joan Growe, who was dedicated in making voting totally accessible,
> Kiffmeyer goes the oppposite direction--all in the name of reducing voter
> fraud, etc. Of course, we've never had a big problem with voter fraud in
> Minnesota. But if you make it harder to vote, fewer minorities or poor
> people show up. Sure, making it easy to vote clearly benefits the
> Democrats. But it's also The Right Thing To Do in a democracy.
>
> Kiffmeyer is from the same party and ideaology as the Republicans down in
> Missouri who went to the Court of Appeals on Tuesday in an effort to close
> down polls in St. Louis at 8 p.m.---no matter how many people were in
> line. Because the people in line were African-Americans who presumably
> were going to vote Democrat.
>
> Can you imagine these same Republicans trying to shut down polls in the
> wealthy suburbs if there were a bunch of rich, white people still standing
> in line at 8 p.m.? I don't think so.
>
> The Minneapolis link to this topic? Well, in Minneapolis, we have a higher
> concentration of poor, minority or immigrant voters who need all the help
> we can extend to make it easy for them to vote. And we have a Secretary of
> State who has no intention of making it easy.
>
> I hope the DFL nominates a good opponent for Kiffmeyer in the next
> election and Minneapolis voters play a strong role in booting her out of
> office.
>
> Lynnell Mickelsen - Linden Hills, Ward 13
>
-----Original Message-----
From: Rich Chandler
"Wow! Totally surreal! Calling for the resignation of a statewide official
over this. I don't recall any harsh words spoken about Joan Growe when the
unexpected hordes of Jesse voters used up all the ballots and had to wait
for more to be printed. Do you have some sort of grudge against Mary
Kiffmeyer?"
