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Minnesota Majority, a conservative group that was until recently headed by Republican activist and former Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, is under fire by current Secretary of State Mark Ritchie for alleged voter intimidation. Ritchie announced today that he has asked prosecutors to look into a phone call placed to a St. Paul man on behalf of the group.
MnIndy’s Molly Priesmeyer highlighted Minnesota Majority’s voter suppression antics on Friday.
St. Paul resident Larry Johnson says that he got a telephone call Tuesday evening from a woman who said she was from the Secretary of State’s office and questioned his “voting practices.” She then told Johnson that she was working with Jeff Davis of Minnesota Majority. Davis is the group’s president.
Ritchie says the SoS’s office has forwarded Johnson’s affidavit to the county attorneys office for prosecution. “We want to let all Minnesotans know that if you or anyone in your family receives a phone call from any individual claiming to be working with or associated with the Office of the Secretary of State, politely get their name and phone number and then hang-up and immediately contact our office at 1-877-600-8683,” Ritchie said at a press conference today.
The Uptake’s Noah Kunin was there. We’ll embed his video when it’s available.
Meanwhile, here is a copy of Larry Johnson’s affidavit; click on the image for a larger version.
Here is the press releases from the Secretary of State’s office:
St. Paul, Minn.- – Secretary of State Mark Ritchie today (Wednesday, Oct. 29) held a news conference to alert citizens to voter intimidation tactics occurring in Minnesota.
Ritchie warned voters of telephone calls from individuals falsely claiming to be associated with the Office of the Secretary of State raising questions about the voting practices of the person being called.
“We have a proud tradition of free and fair elections in Minnesota,” Ritchie said. “Misrepresentation and voter intimidation will not be tolerated.”
Ritchie’s office has alerted the Ramsey County Attorney and the Office of the U.S. Attorney to a complaint filed with the Office of the Secretary of State by a St. Paul resident. The complainant stated that he received a telephone call last night from an individual claiming to be calling on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of State and challenging his voter record. Upon further questioning, the caller also claimed to be associated with Jeff Davis, president of the organization Minnesota Majority.
“We want to let all Minnesotans know that if you or anyone in your family receives a phone call from any individual claiming to be working with or associated with the Office of the Secretary of State, politely get their name and phone number and then hang-up and immediately contact our office at 1-877-600-8683,” Ritchie said.
Allegations of voter intimidation and deceptive practices are investigated and prosecuted by county attorneys. To report voter intimidation, citizens may contact their county attorney directly or the Office of the Secretary of State at 1-877-600-8683.
The Office of the Secretary of State forwards all allegations to county attorneys for further investigation and prosecution.
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4 Comments »
Comment posted October 30, 2008 @ 12:08 pm
This witchhunt smells like a rat. I sure hope this guy conveniently recorded the phone call.
It’s ridiculous to go after a single alleged call. If it did happen, it’s obviously an isolated incident and would do absolutely nothing to deter voter turnout. If there was any rationale for the call, then you would discover a series of calls to actually attempt to supress the vote (if that’s what really is being claimed here).
If it didn’t happen, then put the guy who alleged it in the slammer. Unless a campaign of this activity can be produced to suggest the organization is actively attempting to supress the vote, there would be nothing to suggest this is true, unless a practical joke by someone trying to get Kiffmeyer in trouble.
Comment posted October 30, 2008 @ 12:32 pm
I’d feel a lot better about Ritchie’s credibility if he had already started an investigation of ACORN’s registration practices in MN. Either way, that kind of phone call should be investigated. If I were Ritchie I would hold off on the alarmist press conference until I actually found something.
Comment posted October 30, 2008 @ 9:43 pm
This info used by the voter suppression group is available from the voting records, Kiffmeyer and
the group have a history of voter suppression including messing with the Indian reservation voting.
Some nerds ran some searches on the state voting database to get some targets to intimidate.
Now they have been caught. Now for some federal PIA prison time for these goons.
Comment posted November 3, 2008 @ 10:33 am
Utter bunk. Of course, everybody knows the Minnesota “Independent” is just a haven for left-wing hacks, so objectivity and balance aren’t expected here, but for giggles, here’s part of the other side of the story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btX-cr4wZMg
“Voter supression group!” Hilarious!!! Minnesota Majority is a deviously effective voter suppression group having called nearly two-dozen people and asking them about their current and former addresses! The fiends!
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