Support Secretaries of State in 2006 who will protect voter rights in 2008

Jennifer Brunner

OH-Sec State

Democrat Jennifer Brunner is a former election judge running as a reformer against Republican Greg Hartmann, would-be successor to Ken Blackwell. She is a champion of a voter verified paper trail for electronic voting machines. If elected, Brunner would overturn Blackwell’s draconian voter registration regulations. The next reapportionment will be controlled by the Governor, Auditor and Secretary of State. With the Auditor likely to be a Republican, Democrats must take both the Governors office and the Secretary of State’s office to protect redistricting.

Raised on this page: 211 4,182
Raised across Secretary of State Project: 1,874 167,644

Mark Ritchie

MN-Sec State

Progressive movement leader Mark Ritchie is working to unseat controversial Republican incumbent Mary Kiffmeyer. He is a champion of a voter verified paper trail for electronic voting machines. Kiffmeyer has strong ties to the Christian fundamentalist community and in 2004, stated that “the five most destructive words in the English language are separation of church and state.” The election of Ritchie is crucial not only to the presidential race but to progressive efforts to take back Paul Wellstone’s Senate seat from Republican Norm Coleman in 2008.

Raised on this page: 167 2,703
Raised across Secretary of State Project: 1,103 23,007

Ken Gordon

CO-Sec State

As State Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Ken Gordon introduced and passed the bill requiring a paper trail and audits for all Colorado elections. His Republican opponent for the open seat will selectively enforce Colorado’s new regulations in order to make it difficult for groups to conduct voter registration drives without risking fines or criminal penalties. Gordon is running a progressive, grassroots campaign focusing on voter reform.

Raised on this page: 144 3,232
Raised across Secretary of State Project: 914 28,057

Carmella Sabaugh

MI-Sec State

Carmella Sabaugh supports auditable, voter-verified paper trails. She advocates for Election Day voter registration and opposes instituting new barriers to voting, including ID requirements. As the popular Clerk of Macomb County, she has increased public access to her office by putting candidate filings online and by extending office hours to meet the needs of working people. Sabaugh is a strong supporter of making voting easier through “no reason” absentee voting and is a proponent of making Election Day a federal holiday.

Raised on this page: 132 2,190
Raised across Secretary of State Project: 848 16,876

Ross Miller

NV-Sec State

The November general election will offer the voters of Nevada a stark choice – a Republican who strongly supports harsh voter ID requirements and limits on voter registration that would result in suppression of minority votes – and Ross Miller, a reformer who champions a voter verified paper trail and proposes tough penalties for anyone who intimidates voters or interferes with registration.

Raised on this page: 126 2,049
Raised across Secretary of State Project: 825 33,759

Mary Herrera

NM-Sec State

Bush’s margin of victory in New Mexico in 2004 was just over 6,000 votes or less than one percent of the total votes cast. Mary Herrera spent most of her resources on a very competitive primary in June and was left with only $2,000 cash on hand just a few weeks after Republican candidate Vickie Perea announced that her campaign had hit the $100,000 mark. Mary Herrera has pledged unqualified support for a voter-verified paper trail and to oppose all barriers to voting. Perea is a far rightwing conservative candidate with backing from the highest levels of the Republican machine. In July, RNC chair Ken Mehlman headlined two events for Perea, whom he calls “an outstanding candidate,” and raised $50,000 for her campaign.

Raised on this page: 125 2,437
Raised across Secretary of State Project: 968 29,203

Mike Mauro

IA-Sec State

National Republicans handpicked a White House staffer – George Bush’s personal correspondence secretary – to contest the Iowa Secretary of State seat left vacant by Iowa’s current Democratic Secretary of State who is running for governor. Mauro has pledged to fight for safe, secure elections with a voter verified paper trail and has criticized local Republicans’ push for stricter ID requirements.

Raised on this page: 161 2,458
Raised across Secretary of State Project: 977 23,503

Secretary of State Project

The Secretary of State Project strategic fund operates www.secstateproject.org. A modest political investment in electing clean candidates to critical Secretary of State offices is an efficient way to protect the election in 2008. It’s impossible to place election observers at every precinct where voter suppression tactics may be deployed. What’s more, the most significant barriers to voting are set months in advance of any election – when voter registration laws are selectively enforced, when minorities are purged from voter rolls, and when decisions are made about what kind of voting machines are purchased.

Raised on this page: 156 3,396
Raised across Secretary of State Project: 1,003 84,986