The Minnesota Independent

Secretary Of State - Latest Stories

Student group gets truthy with Daily Show viewers

By Paul Schmelzer | 11.02.06 | 3:59 pm

“More Americans get their news from The Daily Show than any other nationality.”

The genius of Comedy Central’s parody of ABC News’ old slogan–its “truthiness,” if you will–is that, when asked in a 2004 Pew Center survey, more than

Errors persist on Kiffmeyer’s state, campaign sites

By Paul Schmelzer | 10.31.06 | 6:58 am

It seems the charge leveled by the DFL against Mary Kiffmeyer yesterday–that she failed to maintain accurate and updated information on the frequently-asked-questions page on the Secretary of State’s website (including adding language approved in May 2005 that…

Ritchie nabs Strib endorsement

By Paul Schmelzer | 10.21.06 | 4:56 pm

Minnesota’s biggest newpaper chooses Mark Ritchie for Secretary of State in an editorial that could do wonders for his name recognition.

Topline: “After eight years of distractions, diversions and general retreat from the scrupulous professionalism of Joan Growe, the

Where was Mary Kiffmeyer born?

By Matt Martin | 10.20.06 | 2:09 pm

KiffmeyerFor the as long as I can remember Mary Kiffmeyer has been claiming that she was born in Pierz, Minnesota.  According to her website:

Mary was born December 29th, 1946

Ritchie picking up steam

By Paul Schmelzer | 10.19.06 | 12:15 pm

Secretary of State candidate Mark Ritchie seems to be picking up steam–and endorsements. Just a day before Howard Dean comes to town to stump on his behalf (Coffman Union, 2:30 pm Thursday), Ritchie got the nod from the 100+year-old…

Despite ammo, Ritchie ad stays positive

By Paul Schmelzer | 10.16.06 | 1:26 pm

There are two notable things about the TV commercial Secretary of State candidate Mark Ritchie launched today: that a down-ballot candidate is running TV at all, and that Ritchie didn’t unload his best ammo on his opponent, incumbent SoS Mary…

A New Focus on Down-Ballot Races

By Joe Bodell | 10.10.06 | 4:30 pm

In every election, the top-of-the-ballot races get most of the attention.  But in the aftermath of election fiascos in the last two presidential elections, there has been a renewed focus across the country on the “other” elected officials – those…

Another Strike Against Diebold

By Joe Bodell | 09.19.06 | 8:55 am

Previously I reported on the weakness of Diebold’s AccuVote voting machine’s security – BlackBoxVoting, a non-partisan organization focused on open source standards in voting machines, showed that the AccuVote’s security could be penetrated without leaving a trace, contrary…

Vote Tuesday!

By Sara Reller | 09.10.06 | 8:28 pm

When and where should I vote?
You should vote at your regular polling place (if you haven’t moved it should be the same place you voted in the last election, but you need to check to make sure it hasn’t…

Why not elect Mark Ritchie to do the job he’s already doing?

By Matt Martin | 09.08.06 | 5:28 pm

It seems to be with increasing frequency that Mary Kiffmeyer, MN Secretary of State, is taking tips on how to do her job from her opponent, Mark Ritchie.  Only last week Mark Ritchie called for the cutting of…