MN SOS can't account for "unused" registration cards

[Carolab]

Posted on Tue, Oct. 26, 2004


State counts 174,000 new voters

Increase is about 6 percent over 2000

BY PATRICK SWEENEY

Pioneer Press


The rolls of Minnesota's registered voters have grown by about 100,000 people this year and by about 174,000 people since the last presidential election four years ago, according to new voter-eligibility totals released Monday.

A leader of one of the big voter-registration drives in the state this year said the increase was consistent with her internal count.

But the increase, which is smaller than the Census Bureau's estimate of growth in the state's voting-age population, cannot explain why Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer gave out more than 1.5 million voter registration cards this year.

The latest total of registered voters for the state is 2,975,125.

That's up 6 percent from the 2,801,169 voters registered at a comparable point in the 2000 election campaign, up 4.6 percent from the 2002 election and up 3.4 percent from Jan. 1 of this year.

"It seems low compared to how many cards have been picked up from my office," said Kiffmeyer, who early this month said she had to order new cards printed after the first 1.5 million had been exhausted.

Kiffmeyer said she could not explain what became of all the unused cards.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/10014210.htm?1c

[JuniorPlankton]

1. Oopsie

:wtf:

[Oreo]

2. Kiffmeyer

I fear that she may become a household name next week

[SoCalDem]

3. Can you spell s h r e d d e r ???

i thought you could:(

Someething tells me that lots of people will be showing up to vote for the first time, and be very unhappy

[northernsoul]

4. Kiffmeyer is the MN Kathleen Harris

seriously, this woman is as creepy as it gets, check out www.citypages.com for a whole raft of stories about what a partisan hack she is.

[struggle4progress]

14. It is no secret that Minnesota's embattled Secretary of State ...

... Mary Kiffmeyer is an admirer of Katherine Harris, the former Florida election chief who became notorious after presiding over her state's 2000 voting fiasco. Back in 2001, Harris was selected as the keynote speaker for a Kiffmeyer fundraiser at the Metropolitan Club--an appearance canceled only because of the suspension of air travel following the 9/11 attacks. <snip>

http://citypages.com/databank/25/1247/article12603.asp

Thanks for these great links!

[jean]

5. Kiffmeyer and her new system make me quite nervous

[myrna minx]

6. Kiffmeyer is a hack.

Somewhere in a back room a paper shredder is whirring...

[Oreo]

7. Same day registration

If they were shredded, people can register on election day here.

[Carolab]

8. Yes, but

it appears that ID requirements may have become more stringent. She was querying the head of Ashcroft's voting section about this in a letter that was reprinted on the Internet. You will need utility bills plus a photo ID, apparently.

[noamnety]

9. Utility bills?!

What if your roommate has the bills in their name?

[myrna minx]

10. Check out the SOS site...

http://www.sos.state.mn.us/election/faq.html#question7

Q. Can I register to vote on election day?

A. You can register at your polling place on election day. You will need one of the following to verify your residence.

Minnesota driver’s license, learner’s permit, identification card, or receipt for one, with your current address,
Tribal ID where authorized, with your current address
If the Minnesota license or ID has a former address, you may bring a recent utility bill* to use with your license
“Notice of Late Registration” postcard
U.S. passport with utility bill*
U.S. military photo ID card with utility bill*
If you are a student, you can use...

Student ID, registration, or fee statement with your current address

Student photo ID with utility bill*

Student ID if you are on a student housing list on file at the polling place

Someone who is registered in the precinct where you live who will vouch for your residence

* Note: The utility bill must have your name, current address, and be due within 30 days of the election. Utility bills may be for electric, gas, water, solid waste, sewer, telephone, or cable TV.

[spotbird]

11. I must have 500 blanks in the trunk of my car.

We over ordered to be sure we wouldn't run out. Here they have to be mailed by the Secretary of State and it takes over a week for them to arrive.

I'll drop them of at the Bd of Elections eventually.

[Carolab]

12. So?

500 isn't anywhere the number gone missing.

[Supersedeas]

13. nothing odd happening at Sec of State offices in battlegrounds states

Nothing odd at all. Broadcast media turns the page.

[Zorra]

15. Kiffmeyer is right up there on the list of republicans that need to be

investigated for election fraud after Kerry is elected and we have a fair and balanced DOJ again.

[dflprincess]

16. The problem may be, will people who've stood in line a long

time waiting to vote be willing to go and stand in another line to register if there's been a foul up?