FOR INDEPENDENT VOTERS--BRUCE KENNEDY

a vision of voting for todAY AND TOMORROW

I’m Bruce Kennedy. I ran for Secretary of State of Minnesota on November 7, 2006. I lost.

The most important role of the Secretary of State is chief administrator of elections.

I am keeping my campaign website up for a while as a resource for election information and to make people regret that they didn't support me. Please peruse the site and enjoy the attempts at humor along the way.

ELECTION RESULTS: Mark Ritchie (DFL) won with 49%. Incumbent Mary Kiffmeyer (Republican) got 44%. I got 3.67%. Joel Spoonheim (Independence Party) got 3.02%.

Thank you to everybody who took the time to look at this website. I didn't win, but in time, my ideas will. These ideas include:

1. Foster confidence in elections by appointing a nonpartisan chief election official and by obtaining open source, modular, non-proprietary voting equipment.

2. Upgrade our voting equipment to measure rankings. The race for governor in Minnesota showed clearly why we need to be able to rank our choices and require that the winner be endorsed by the majority. Ranked Voting can improve our leadership

3. Focus more on quality of vote, rather than quantity. In other words, we put too much emphasis on urging people to vote and not enough on urging them to ignore the ads that corrupt our process.

If you are unsure what I'm talking about, please read on. Even though the election is over, we can make changes that will dramatically improve the voting process and our political leadership.

THE FUTURE OF voting equipment--OPEN SOURCE

The Secretary of State can strongly influence the selection of voting machines. Voting equipment can be more secure and less expensive, while facilitating election processes which provide for more accurate representation of the people (and therefore, better leadership).

Mike Himowitz explains it all

Open Voting Solution

Good article on voting equipment

my campaign ads

I didn't show up in a television ad. If I had enough money to pay for an ad, it would have said, “Why are you paying attention to television ads?”

These ads are killing our politics, and this is a subject I talk about on the Voters’ Responsibilities page. A related essay is When Voters Go Stupid.

But if you just can’t get enough of 30 second sound bites, check out the Political Ad Spoofs where I have a couple of homemade ads that will make you chuckle.

The road to better leadership--Ranked Voting

Why Ranked Voting? The most powerful thing you can do to improve politics in Minnesota is to support ranked voting. Find out how ranked voting can reduce polarization, increase participation, encourage more choices, and turn the focus from divisive issues to real solutions. Voters’ Rights.

San Francisco Saves $1 Million Using Ranked Choice Voting

Burlington, Vermont--A Successful Instant Runoff Mayoral Election

My Testimony to House Committee--Municipalities should have the right to choose ranked voting

MCCL not fair to Minnesotans--Pro-Lifers, Please Read This

Ireland has the Best Electoral System in the World--Why Don't We?

WHY I recommendED mark ritchie

This is the statement that was on my home page from November 1 through election day. "I’m recommending that undecided voters cast their ballot for Mark Ritchie for Minnesota Secretary of State."

Why I opposed Mary Kiffmeyer

I will continue to fight for instant runoff voting, so situations like this never occur again. It’s not fair to be forced to vote defensively.

I will also draft a bill for a constitutional amendment to eliminate the office of Secretary of State, and I will work for that if I can find a legislator who has enough courage to author the bill.

my credentials

I was a highly qualified candidate. I have been a self-employed attorney for 29 years. I have been ranked as a Superlawyer by Mpls-St. Paul magazine (in the top 5% of lawyers), and have been an active leader in the bar association, helping make improvements to dozens of laws. Since 2001, I have been a volunteer advocate for election reform, and in the process I have learned about all issues relating to elections.

More about my credentials

Video and Text about me and why I ran for Secretary of State

COMPARE MY ANSWERS TO THE OTHER CANDIDATES

KSTP and the League of Women Voters televised a debate of the major party candidates for Secretary of State on Saturday, October 21. I was not invited.

The League of Women Voters requires that candidates be in a major party to qualify for their debates. There is an exception if an independent candidate registers 5% or more in an independent poll. But in this race, there has been no independent poll. That made it impossible for me to qualify, basically punishing me for standing up for the principle that the person in charge of elections should not be tied to a political party. I asked the League if they could at least mention to the audience that I'm a candidate. They refused. So much for the voter education mission of the League of Women Voters.

I decided to create my own responses to the debate questions. View debate and my responses

TO EVERYBODY THAT I MET at the state fair: THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO TALK TO ME AND BECOME AN INFORMED VOTER.

Quote from a young man at the fair: "I learned more in five minutes talking to Bruce than I did from all the other political booths put together."

Day One: Not good. Day 2: Better. Day 3: Electric

Left: Newly Circled Booth; Center: sign; Right: Best Looking (and most intelligent) volunteers of any candidate

My State Fair handout--1 page

vOTING iSSUES

I take a common sense approach to voting issues and avoid the partisan wrangling.

Discussion of the Photo ID dispute