Secretary of State Forum
Candidates agree on most issues
except fraud
by Mai Thor
The
recent candidate forum for Secretary of State revealed broad agreement
among the candidates on a number of key issues relative to voters
with disabilities. During the July event at St. Paul’s
Wellstone Center, the candidates—Mary Kiffmeyer (R), Bruce Kennedy, Mark
Ritchie (DFL), and Joel Spoonheim (I)—generally felt that the accessibility
and equipment requirements of HAVA are steps in the right direction for the voting
rights of people with disabilities. Other comments regarding HAVA included the
need for additional funding, more options for voting equipment and continued
discussions from the disability community.
Some
disagreements surfaced on the issue of voter fraud. “Certainly,
there is voter fraud in Minnesota,” said Kiffmeyer. Both she
and Kennedy felt that it is not unreasonable to believe there is
voter fraud and said systems should be in place to prevent it. Conversely,
Mr. Ritchie and Mr. Spoonheim did not find voter fraud to be an issue
and felt that the focus should be on encouraging people to vote. “I’m
not going to let people who aren’t eligible vote, but I’m
going to spend my time trying to rebuild our faith and trust in our
system,” said Ritchie.
A question from the audience raised a very simple but important
question: why should people vote? The candidates responded that voting
creates accountability within our government, that it is our process
of choosing our leaders, and that it is an expression of our beliefs.
The forum was moderated by
David Hancox from the Metropolitan Center Independent Center. Co-sponsors
for the event included Arc Greater Twin Cities, the Consortium of
Citizens with Disabilities, Courage Center, Merrick, the Minnesota
Disability Law Center and the Minnesota Participation Project. The
Minnesota State Council on Disability provided ASL interpreter services. ![]()
