Preserving news of the USA for this generation and the next!
Sec. State Mark Ritchie Tries Intimidation to Squelch Questions About Voter Rolls
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie seems to be abusing the power of his office, employing intimidation tactics in an attempt to suppress questions about voter registration irregularities.
Yesterday afternoon Secretary of State Mark Ritchie called a press conference alleging that Jean Sanford, a volunteer with Minnesota Majority, had contacted a voter representing herself as working with the Secretary of State. Secretary Ritchie further asserted that the volunteer from Minnesota Majority was engaged in voter intimidation tactics.
"The complaint is completely frivolous and Mark Ritchie knows it," said Jeff Davis, President of Minnesota Majority. In a sworn affidavit given today by Jean Sanford, she contradicts the voter's complaint. Sanford said that she never represented herself as being associated with the Secretary of State.
“Jean is a sweet little grandma who is passionate about transparency in elections,” said Davis, “The voter’s own sworn statement indicates that he found Mrs. Sanford to be very kind. I can’t imagine how anyone could be intimidated by this lady.” Minnesota Majority believes that the voter, above all else, was concerned by the amount of information that is maintained on Minnesota’s public voter registration records. In subsequent statements to TV reporters, the voter clarified that he was never under the impression Mrs. Sanford worked with the Secretary of State's office. He said he was alarmed by teh amount of information she had about him. This information is available to the public from the Secretary of State's office and is frequently and legally used by numerous organizations for voter research and political activities.
"Mark Ritchie's actions are simply a ruse to deflect attention away from the real issue at hand – the obvious problems with Minnesota’s voter registration records," said Davis. Minnesota Majority has been investigating apparent irregularities in the Secretary of State’s voter registration records for several days and has uncovered a large number of anomalies that are detailed on the group's website.
Volunteers have been researching these apparent discrepancies by taking photographs of vacant lots at addresses listed on voter registrations and telephoning individuals who appear to have duplicate voter registration records. When contacting people by phone, volunteers give people their name, identify themselves as being with Minnesota Majority and ask the individual to verify their address.
Minnesota Majority suspects that Secretary of State Ritchie may be trying to use the power of his office to suppress further investigation. "The citizens of Minnesota should be very concerned when a public official exploits the power of his office to attack a private citizen who is simply trying to ask questions," said Davis. "We are not deterred by Secretary of State Ritchie’s tactics. We have not done anything wrong. No one should be intimidated by our research, unless of course an individual was contemplating committing voter fraud."
While nearly every Twin Cities media outlet was happy to run all day with Ritchie's allegations on Wednesday, only a few media outlets attended Minnesota Majoriy's press conference to get their side of the story on record, and no Twin-Cities TV news outlet covered the statements by Minnesota Majority's volunteer, refuting Secretary Ritchie's accusations. A portion of Jean Sanford's statement can be seen here.
Yesterday afternoon Secretary of State Mark Ritchie called a press conference alleging that Jean Sanford, a volunteer with Minnesota Majority, had contacted a voter representing herself as working with the Secretary of State. Secretary Ritchie further asserted that the volunteer from Minnesota Majority was engaged in voter intimidation tactics.
"The complaint is completely frivolous and Mark Ritchie knows it," said Jeff Davis, President of Minnesota Majority. In a sworn affidavit given today by Jean Sanford, she contradicts the voter's complaint. Sanford said that she never represented herself as being associated with the Secretary of State.
“Jean is a sweet little grandma who is passionate about transparency in elections,” said Davis, “The voter’s own sworn statement indicates that he found Mrs. Sanford to be very kind. I can’t imagine how anyone could be intimidated by this lady.” Minnesota Majority believes that the voter, above all else, was concerned by the amount of information that is maintained on Minnesota’s public voter registration records. In subsequent statements to TV reporters, the voter clarified that he was never under the impression Mrs. Sanford worked with the Secretary of State's office. He said he was alarmed by teh amount of information she had about him. This information is available to the public from the Secretary of State's office and is frequently and legally used by numerous organizations for voter research and political activities.
"Mark Ritchie's actions are simply a ruse to deflect attention away from the real issue at hand – the obvious problems with Minnesota’s voter registration records," said Davis. Minnesota Majority has been investigating apparent irregularities in the Secretary of State’s voter registration records for several days and has uncovered a large number of anomalies that are detailed on the group's website.
Volunteers have been researching these apparent discrepancies by taking photographs of vacant lots at addresses listed on voter registrations and telephoning individuals who appear to have duplicate voter registration records. When contacting people by phone, volunteers give people their name, identify themselves as being with Minnesota Majority and ask the individual to verify their address.
Minnesota Majority suspects that Secretary of State Ritchie may be trying to use the power of his office to suppress further investigation. "The citizens of Minnesota should be very concerned when a public official exploits the power of his office to attack a private citizen who is simply trying to ask questions," said Davis. "We are not deterred by Secretary of State Ritchie’s tactics. We have not done anything wrong. No one should be intimidated by our research, unless of course an individual was contemplating committing voter fraud."
While nearly every Twin Cities media outlet was happy to run all day with Ritchie's allegations on Wednesday, only a few media outlets attended Minnesota Majoriy's press conference to get their side of the story on record, and no Twin-Cities TV news outlet covered the statements by Minnesota Majority's volunteer, refuting Secretary Ritchie's accusations. A portion of Jean Sanford's statement can be seen here.
Comment
About
© 2009 Created by joe 6 pack on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
You need to be a member of The North States Man to add comments!
Join this Ning Network