Mary Kiffmeyer

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Mary Kiffmeyer (born December 29, 1946) is an American politician, served as the 20th Minnesota Secretary of State. She is a member of the Republican Party. First elected in November 1998, she was sworn into office on January 4, 1999, and re-elected in November 2002. She was defeated for re-election in November of 2006.

The oldest of fourteen children, Kiffmeyer was raised in Pierz, Minnesota. She married Ralph Kiffmeyer, a nurse anesthetist, in 1968. Ralph Kiffmeyer served one term in the Minnesota House. Kiffmeyer has four children--Christina, Patrick, James, and John--and thirteen grandchildren.

Kiffmeyer told the attendees of a 2004 National Day of Prayer event in Minnesota that the "five words" that are "probably most destructive" in America today are "separation of church and state." Later, when asked to clarify her remarks. Kiffmeyer replied, "It's not the words that are destructive, it's the way they are interpreted. There are a lot of good church people who don't think they can be involved in government."

Until recently, Minnesota law allowed Native American tribal ID cards to be used by members of tribes living on reservations for Election Day registration, but not members living off reservations. The ACLU filed a complaint, ACLU v. Kiffmeyer, on behalf of urban members of Native American bands and the National Congress of American Indians. Judge James Rosenbaum, issued a temporary restraining order in October 2004 that sided with the plaintiffs. The case was settled in favor of the plaintiffs in September 2005. The Minnesota Legislature subsequently amended election law to recognize this ruling.

After Mary Kiffmeyer entered office in 1999, Minnesotans came out to vote and lead the nation in voter turnout in 2000, 2002 and 2004. In 2004, Minnesota had 77.7% voter turnout, the highest in the state since 1960.

Mary Kiffmeyer transformed the Secretary of State website allowing users to register to vote, find and get directions to their local precincts, and see who their local candidates are in the upcoming election.

Mary Kiffmeyer has testified in front of a congressional committee the importance of paper ballots in upcoming elections and stressed the importance of a “paper trail” while voting technology is moving ahead.

[edit] Electoral history

2006 Race for state Secretary of State
- Mark Ritchie (D), 49.09%
- Mary Kiffmeyer (R), 44.16%
- Bruce Kennedy (independent), 3.67%
- Joel Spoonheim (I), 3.02%
2002 Race for state Secretary of State
- Mary Kiffmeyer (R) (inc.), 48% and is documented by an external link
- Buck Humphrey (DFL), 45%
1998 Race for state Secretary of State
- Mary Kiffmeyer (R), 47%
- Edwina Garcia (DFL), 41%
- Alan Shilepsky (Reform), 10%