Manufactured Outrage with Mark Ritchie

by: Fantastic

Sun Feb 25, 2007 at 21:15:25 PM CST

Cross-posted at The Life Fantastic

Long story short:  Mark Ritchie is making good on campaign promises to ease voter registration.  Republicans are up in arms, bleating on about voter fraud.  Such as this letter being circulated to East Dakota outstate Minnesota newspapers by Laura Brod (R-New Prague), House Minority leader.

Do you find it difficult to vote? Or do you just want assurances that elections are fair and legal? Secretary of State Mark Ritchie recently unveiled an election agenda that would significantly ease voting restrictions - including online voter registration and voting absentee for any reason.

While these proposals are well-meaning, they also lack a specific focus on ensuring security in our elections, and would likely make it even easier for non-Minnesotans to vote.

While citizens desire new technology and voting simplicity, they also want confidence in their election system. Voters need to be able to trust the process, trust the technology, and they must be assured that their legal ballots are not going to be negated by someone who is voting illegally.

Identity theft and fraud are becoming more common, and we need to ensure that our election processes can stand up to the test of those who wish to tamper.

House Republicans have consistently supported election initiatives that maintain the integrity and security of our voting system, such as showing photo identification before voting and instituting stronger vouching restrictions so only those who are legally eligible can participate.

But Ritchie all but ignored our common-sense initiatives - which are strongly supported by citizens throughout Minnesota. Election reform is important, so contact your state lawmaker and share your views.

In the meantime, we'll look forward to working with Ritchie on initiatives that strengthen the voting process, rather than making it easier for non-Minnesotans to influence an election outcome.

(I had to take the cheap shot)

What is happening here is a little outrage manufacturing.  They want to paint Ritchie as somehow trying to game the system in favor of Democrats, using the words "Voter Fraud" and "Identity Theft" to get some folks all whipped up.

The only catch is, voter fraud isn't that much of an issue in Minnesota.  And when someone does do it, they get caught.

Student faces prison in vote fraud case

WINONA, Minn., Oct. 25, 2006 --A 19-year-old Winona State University student charged with vote fraud faces possibly five years in year prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted. Abigail Anne-Mariee Kremer is charged with voting twice. According to court documents, this is what happened: On Oct. 13, 2005, Kremer applied for an absentee ballet with Nobles County listing her legal residence in Wilmont, Minn. The next week, on Oct. 22 Kremer filled out the absentee ballet and returned it to Nobles County. Then on Nov. 8, Kremer voted again in Winona, registering in person and listed her Winona State dorm address. In registering in Winona, Kremer was asked if she had previously voted and she responded "yes" that she was previously registered in Wilmont.

I had to dig really really hard to find that story.  It kind of went under the radar. But I was also able to dig up a little commentary on the subject in the Winona Daily News from then SoS Candidate, Mark Ritchie:

System guards against fraud

By Mark Ritchie | Minneapolis

The case of the 19-year-old WSU student who voted absentee in two different cities and is now charged with a felony ("Voting early and often," Aug. 30) shows that our current system protects against voter fraud. If a person votes illegally in Minnesota, he or she will be caught and prosecuted. Additionally, once Minnesota's statewide voter registration system is linked with other states' systems, we will be able to catch anyone trying to vote in more than one state.

It is crucial to prevent election fraud. We must make sure nobody votes illegally or runs for office where they don't live. At the same time, we must find ways to make sure that young voters feel welcomed into our society and into our democratic institutions, like voting and running for office. The voter turnout rate among young people in Minnesota, although higher than other states, is still below that of other age groups. Turnout in southeastern Minnesota is especially low compared with the northeast. This can and should change.

As secretary of state, I will work with churches, schools, and community groups to increase voter registration and turnout among 18- to

29-year-olds, our lowest voting group. Young adults are our future; we need to do all that we can to get them engaged.

The only thing happening here is Ritchie is doing what he said he would:  making registration easier.  This is what the voters of Minnesota elected him to do.  Anyone saying anything else is making stuff up.