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MINNESOTA
INCUMBENT: MARK RITCHIE (D)NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION
PRIMARY DATE: AUGUST 12, 2014

Minnesota Secretary of State: At-a-Glance
2014 Dan Severson (R) Steve Simon (D)
Status Declared Candidate Declared Candidate
Total Raised
(Jan 2013 May 2014)
$11,645 $147,748
Cash on Hand
(As of May 2014)
$7,117 $27,543
Latest Poll No Polling Available
2010 Mark Ritchie (D)* Dan Severson (R)
Results 49.10% 45.60%
Total Raised $314,529 $157,917
*Incumbent
Note: Only candidates who reported having at least $1,000 cash on hand were included.
Sources: View Candidate Report of Receipts and Expenditures, Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board,
accessed June 17, 2014, 2010 Election Results, Minnesota Secretary of State, accessed January 8, 2014; Minnesota
2010, National Institute on Money in State Politics, accessed January 8, 2014.


MINNESOTA MEDIA MARKETS CPP
Media Market
2012 Q4 Political CPP
Persons 25+
2010 Ritchie Vote % 2010 SOS Share
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN $257 49.1% 80.1%
Duluth, MN-Superior, WI $37 59.9% 6.3%
Fargo, ND-Moorhead, MN $45 43.6% 4.6%
Mankato, MN $42 43.7% 2.2%
Rochester, MN $33 44.6% 4.7%
Sioux Falls, SD $52 40.8% 0.9%
La Crosse, WI $48 45.5% 1.2%
Statewide Total with Spill $514 49.1% 100.0%
Sources: Television Planning Guide: TV Costs and Vote Analysis Election 2012, Media Strategies and Research, February
2012; Atlas Online Toolkit, Election Results module, accessed 12/11/13.

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Secretary of State
Mark Ritchie (D)

POWERS AND RELATED DUTIES
The secretary of state is the chief election official in Minnesota and is responsible for
administration of the Minnesota election law. In this capacity, the secretary of state operates
the statewide voter registration system and prepares the official roster of voters for every
election conducted in Minnesota. Other election activities include certifying voting systems,
conducting administrative recounts, accepting filings by candidates for multi-county offices,
and training of local election officials. The secretary of state chairs the State Canvassing
Board, which certifies the results of state elections.
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The secretary is also the keeper of the great seal of the State of Minnesota and is vested
with a number of responsibilities including preserving documents filed with the state,
providing certain business services to the public, maintaining the recording of financing
statements under the Uniform Commercial Code and administering Safe at Home, an
address confidentiality program assisting Minnesotans who fear for their safety, such as
victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
2

Other official duties include serving as a member on the State Executive Council, State
Board of Investment, and the Minnesota Historical Society Executive Board.
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MARK RITCHIE (D) NOT RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION
Democrat Mark Ritchie served as Minnesotas Secretary of State
since unseating incumbent Republican Mary Kiffmeyer (a current
member of the Minnesota Senate and ALEC state chairwoman)
53.2% to 40.7% in 2006. He won reelection in 2010 with 49% of the
vote.
Ritchie gained national prominence in 2010 while overseeing the
two-month recount of the Al Franken/Norm Coleman U.S. Senate
race. In 2012, he led another recount between Minnesota
gubernatorial candidates Mark Dayton and Tom Emmer.

Ritchie has been an intense critic of voter ID laws, and Minnesota
retained its position as the state with the highest voter turnout over
the course of his two-term tenure. Though he is eligible to run for
his third term, Ritchie announced in June 2013 that he will not be
seeking re-election.
4
He has not yet declared any plans for seeking
public office.



1
Secretarys Office, Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Accessed Jan. 8, 2014
2
Secretarys Office, Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Accessed Jan. 8, 2014
3
Secretarys Office, Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Accessed Jan. 8, 2014
4
Salisbury, Bill, Mark Ritchie wont seek re-election in 2014, TwinCities.com, July 4, 2013
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Secretary of State
Candidate Steve
Simon (D)
2014
After the withdrawal of former State Senator John Howe from the
race, Republicans will avoid a primary contest in deciding their
candidate for Secretary of State. Former State Representative Dan
Severson became the sole Republican in the race shortly after he
earned the partys nomination at the state convention, causing Howe
to withdraw. After dropping out, Howe warned against allowing the
race to focus on issues of elections and ballot access, instead urging
Republicans to steer the conversation toward the business
responsibilities of the Secretary of State.
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Severson is a Navy
veteran, and he represented District 14A in the Sauk Rapids and St.
Cloud area from 2003 to 2011. During that time, Severson became
the Republican Minority Whip.
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In 2010, he unsuccessfully
challenged Ritchie for the Secretary of States office, losing by 3.5%.
He also sought Minnesotas US Senate seat in 2012, but failed to win
the Republican Partys endorsement.
7
During his tenure in the
Minnesota House of Representatives, Severson voted in favor of an amendment that would
have forced voters to show photo ID at the polls when casting a ballot.
8

State Representative Steve Simon of Hopkins is the endorsed Democratic candidate.
9
He
was first elected to the House in 2004 and represents District 46B,
which includes parts of Hopkins and St. Louis Park in the Twin Cities
area.
10
Simon is known as a defender of voting rights, having
authored Minnesotas no-excuse absentee voting law, and he was a
vocal critic of Minnesotas voter ID amendment.
11
Over the course
of his time in the Minnesota House, Simon consistently voted against
Minnesotas voter ID bills.
12
Simon has been endorsed by the IBEW
Minnesota State Council, former Minnesota Democratic Secretary of
State Joan Growe and a host of Minnesota Democrats.
13
There are
two other Democratic candidates in the race, Gregg Iverson and
Dick Franson, but neither one has a viable campaign infrastructure.
14

There several third party candidates in the race, including Bob
Helland and David Singleton of the Independence Party and
Libertarian Bob Odden.
15
Singleton reports having $252 cash on
hand, Singleton has $0 COH and Odden has not yet filed a financial statement with the
Secretary of States office.
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5
GOP Avoids Primary For Secretary Of States Office, Associated Press, CBS Minnesota, June 5, 2014.
6
Meet the GOP U.S. Senate candidates, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, May 17, 2012.
7
Sommerhauser, Mark, Severson plans second run at Secretary of State seat, SCTimes, March 27, 2014.
8
MPR News Votetracker: Require Voter Identification Cards, Minnesota Public Radio, Accessed June 17, 2014.
9
Associated Press, GOP Avoids Primary For Secretary Of States Office, CBS Minnesota, June 5, 2014.
10
Representative Steve Simon (DFL) District: 46B, Minnesota House of Representatives, Accessed June 17, 2014.
11
Mullen, Mike, Joan Growe endorses Steve Simon for Secretary of State, MinnPost.com, Nov. 20, 2013.
12
Steve Simons Voting Records on Issue: Campaign Finance and Elections, Project Vote Smart, Accessed June 17,
2014.
13
Steves Supporters, Steve Simon for Secretary of State, Accessed June 17, 2014.
14
Associated Press, GOP Avoids Primary For Secretary Of States Office, CBS Minnesota, June 5, 2014.
15
2014 State General Election Candidate Filings, Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, Accessed
June 17, 2014.
16
View Candidate Report of Receipts and Expenditures, Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board,
Accessed June 17, 2014.
Secretary of State
Candidate Dan
Severson (R)