Mary Kiffmeyer
Encyclopedia
Mary Kiffmeyer is an American politician who served as the 20th Minnesota
Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007.
She was subsequently elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives
in 2008, and currently represents District 16B.
, Kiffmeyer was elected secretary of state in November 1998, and was sworn into office on January 4, 1999. She was re-elected in November 2002. She was defeated for re-election in November 2006 by Mark Ritchie
. In 2008, she ran for and was elected to represent District 16B in the Minnesota House. She was re-elected in 2010. The district includes portions of Sherburne County
just northwest of the Twin Cities
metro area.
Beginning in 2003, 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 American Civil Liberties Union
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 which 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.
Kiffmeyer told the attendees at 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". Kiffmeyer later said, "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."
On election day 2006
, Kiffmeyer supported a decision by local election judges to not allow some University of Minnesota
students that lived near the campus to register to vote because they had inadequate proof of residence. A Hennepin County
judge overruled this decision the same day, but it was unclear how many of the students returned to the polls.
Kiffmeyer testified in front of a congressional committee on the importance of paper ballots in upcoming elections and stressed the importance of a "paper trail" while voting technology is moving ahead.
After Kiffmeyer left office, a routine Legislative audit was conducted on the Secretary of State's office for 2005 and 2006. This audit concluded that the office hired 16 employees at a pay rate that exceeded their collective bargaining agreement without obtaining approval from the Department of Employee Relations, resulting in total overpayment to employees of over $190,000. The explanation given in the audit was because the office mistakenly believed it retained this delegated authority. There were also instances where her mileage reimbursement was calculated from her home near Big Lake
instead of from her Saint Paul
office, with a lack of a clear "public purpose" explanation for some of her travels.
. She lives near Big Lake, Minnesota
with her husband, Ralph Kiffmeyer
, a nurse anesthetist
who served one term in the Minnesota House. They have four children and 14 grandchildren.
Kiffmeyer served on the Board of Directors of Riverview Community Bank, a "Christ-centered" savings and loan. The Minnesota Department of Commerce closed the Riverview Community Bank on October 23, 2009.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007.
She was subsequently elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
in 2008, and currently represents District 16B.
Overview of government service
A RepublicanRepublican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...
, Kiffmeyer was elected secretary of state in November 1998, and was sworn into office on January 4, 1999. She was re-elected in November 2002. She was defeated for re-election in November 2006 by Mark Ritchie
Mark Ritchie
Donald Mark Ritchie was elected the 21st Minnesota Secretary of State on November 7, 2006. He was re-elected in 2010. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He grew up in Iowa, and graduated from Iowa State University in 1971...
. In 2008, she ran for and was elected to represent District 16B in the Minnesota House. She was re-elected in 2010. The district includes portions of Sherburne County
Sherburne County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 64,417 people, 21,581 households, and 16,746 families residing in the county. The population density was 148 people per square mile . There were 22,827 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...
just northwest of the Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
metro area.
Minnesota Secretary of State
While Kiffmeyer was secretary of state, Minnesotans led the nation in voter turnout, in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. In 2004, Minnesota had 77.7% voter turnout, the highest in the state since 1960. She transformed a 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.Beginning in 2003, 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 American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
filed a complaint, ACLU v. Kiffmeyer, on behalf of urban members of Native American bands and the National Congress of American Indians
National Congress of American Indians
The National Congress of American Indians is a American Indian and Alaska Native indigenous rights organization. It was founded in 1944 in response to termination and assimilation policies that the U.S. government forced upon the tribal governments in contradiction of their treaty rights and...
. Judge James Rosenbaum issued a temporary restraining order in October 2004 which sided with the plaintiffs. The case was settled in favor of the plaintiffs in September 2005. The Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
subsequently amended election law to recognize this ruling.
Kiffmeyer told the attendees at 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". Kiffmeyer later said, "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."
On election day 2006
United States general elections, 2006
The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. All United States House of Representatives seats and one third of the United States Senate seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state governorships, many state legislatures, four territorial...
, Kiffmeyer supported a decision by local election judges to not allow some University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
students that lived near the campus to register to vote because they had inadequate proof of residence. A Hennepin County
Hennepin County, Minnesota
Hennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. As of 2010 the population was 1,152,425. Its county seat is Minneapolis. It is by far the most populous county in Minnesota; more than one in five Minnesotans live...
judge overruled this decision the same day, but it was unclear how many of the students returned to the polls.
Kiffmeyer testified in front of a congressional committee on the importance of paper ballots in upcoming elections and stressed the importance of a "paper trail" while voting technology is moving ahead.
After Kiffmeyer left office, a routine Legislative audit was conducted on the Secretary of State's office for 2005 and 2006. This audit concluded that the office hired 16 employees at a pay rate that exceeded their collective bargaining agreement without obtaining approval from the Department of Employee Relations, resulting in total overpayment to employees of over $190,000. The explanation given in the audit was because the office mistakenly believed it retained this delegated authority. There were also instances where her mileage reimbursement was calculated from her home near Big Lake
Big Lake, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,063 people, 2,117 households, and 1,570 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,688.4 people per square mile . There were 2,206 housing units at an average density of 614.3 per square mile...
instead of from her Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
office, with a lack of a clear "public purpose" explanation for some of her travels.
Personal background and information
The oldest of 14 children, Kiffmeyer was raised in Pierz, MinnesotaPierz, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,277 people, 512 households, and 321 families residing in the city. The population density was 945.8 people per square mile . There were 522 housing units at an average density of 386.6 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 98.67% White, 0.39%...
. She lives near Big Lake, Minnesota
Big Lake, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,063 people, 2,117 households, and 1,570 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,688.4 people per square mile . There were 2,206 housing units at an average density of 614.3 per square mile...
with her husband, Ralph Kiffmeyer
Ralph Kiffmeyer
Ralph R. Kiffmeyer is a nurse anesthetist who served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from January 8, 1985 to January 5, 1987. He was elected as a Republican and represented parts of Benton and Sherburne counties. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Democrat Jerry Bauerly...
, a nurse anesthetist
Nurse anesthetist
A nurse anesthetist is a nurse who specializes in the administration of anesthesia.In the United States, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist is an advanced practice registered nurse who has acquired graduate-level education and board certification in anesthesia...
who served one term in the Minnesota House. They have four children and 14 grandchildren.
Kiffmeyer served on the Board of Directors of Riverview Community Bank, a "Christ-centered" savings and loan. The Minnesota Department of Commerce closed the Riverview Community Bank on October 23, 2009.
Electoral history
- 2010 Race for Minnesota State House – District 16B
- Mary Kiffmeyer (Republican), 70.37%
- Tom Heyd (Democrat), 29.54%
- Write-In, 0.10%
- 2008 Race for Minnesota State House – District 16B
- Mary Kiffmeyer (Republican), 64%
- Steve Andrews (Democrat), 36%
- 2006 Race for Minnesota Secretary of State
- Mark RitchieMark RitchieDonald Mark Ritchie was elected the 21st Minnesota Secretary of State on November 7, 2006. He was re-elected in 2010. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He grew up in Iowa, and graduated from Iowa State University in 1971...
(Democrat), 49.09% - Mary Kiffmeyer (Republican), 44.16%
- Bruce Kennedy (Independent), 3.67%
- Joel Spoonheim (Independent), 3.02%
- Mark Ritchie
- 2002 Race for Minnesota Secretary of State
- Mary Kiffmeyer (Republican) (incumbent), 48%
- Buck Humphrey (DFL), 45%
- 1998 Race for Minnesota Secretary of State
- Mary Kiffmeyer (Republican), 47%
- Edwina Garcia (DFL), 41%
- Alan Shilepsky (Reform), 10%
Records
Correspondence and subject files documenting the activities of Mary Kiffmeyer as Minnesota Secretary of State (1999–2007) are available for research use. Topics covered include ballots, digital signatures, electoral college, voter registration, election judges, and military absentee voting. There are also photographs of various award presentations, meetings, and events attended by Kiffmeyer.External links
- Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State
- Second Inaugural Address (Delivered in Saint Paul, January 6, 2003)
- AU, Allies 'Let Freedom Ring' On National Day Of Prayer (Online source for 2004 National Day of Prayer quotation)
- Voting Rights Project-ACLU v. Kiffmeyer
- Minnesota Secretary of State Legislative Auditor Report for 2005 and 2006