Tag: Secretary of State

I report, you decide :)

McManus Campaign Site

Norlander Campaign Site

Brown Campaign Site

 Emmons Campaign Site

"I'm very excited about my campaign for Secretary of State, and I look forward to a spirited and vigorous race," McManus said. "Michigan needs bold leaders who are willing to stand up for what they believe in, and that's why I am especially proud to be the first candidate to file my affidavit and signatures to officially become a candidate."

Becoming a convention candidate isn't as easy as signing a slip of paper, lest the Democrats or any other stick-in-the-mud wreak havoc with the process by flooding the nominating convention with trouble makers.  Michigan Republican Party convention rules require candidates for Secretary of State, Attorney General, Supreme Court and each of the various higher ed boards to demonstrate a certain modicum of support from local Party leaders from across the state.

With those rules in place, a candidate's official filing takes on additional significance.  It demonstrates, especially this early, a well organized campaign and a good bit of popular support among the activist set.  

In McManus's case, she filed her affidavit and submitted the official high-signs of five Congressional District Chairs.

A Republican from Lake Leelanau, McManus has run thus far on issues like election reform and promoting fiscal conservatism. She sponsored legislation putting a 'shot clock' on the Secretary of State to require timely resolution of campaign finance violations (like, say, the investigation into massive Mark Schauer-led violations that seemed to drag on forever) and she has taken the lead on consolidating the departments of natural resources and environmental quality.

In the field of potential Secretary of State candidates, Cameron Brown, Judy Emmons and Anne Norlander remain "on the clock."

Detroiters 18 and older: 603,000

National voter registration: 67.6%

National African American voter registration: 60.7%

Projected Detroit voter registration: 375,000 (approx.)

Number of bad registrations flagged for removal: 47,000

Total projected voter roll plus acknowledged bad entries: 422,000 (approx.)

Detroiters registered to vote: 633,000

Phantom voters: 211,000

Hu-wha?!

Yep.  You read it here first, boys and girls.  According to the best projections, historical records, census and registration figures there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 211,000 voter ID cards floating around the Motor City that have no business even existing.  

The Tower goes to great lengths to explain away the fact that more registered voters exist than eligible  voters, highlighting ad nauseam the problems with federal law that require bad voter registrations to remain on the books for two federal election cycles before being removed (that 47K number above) but never does the rest of the arithmetic.

211,000 phantom voters.  

Here are a few more numbers to consider, from the top of the ticket...

2008 General Election results-
DEM: 96.93%
GOP: 2.65%

2006 General Election results-
DEM: 95.05%
GOP: 4.33%

2004 General Election results-
DEM: 93.61%
GOP: 5.93%

I'll say it again... 211,000 phantom voters.  211,000 phantom voters in a city that has spent the last two election cycles going more than 95/5 for the Left.

I'm just glad I'm not the only person who thinks that's a problem.  In exclusive interviews with RightMichigan, 2010 Secretary of State candidates Cameron Brown, Michelle McManus and Anne Norlander each expressed concern about the integrity of registration rolls and groups like ACORN who have been caught red handed registering everyone from Mickey Mouse to Daffy Duck in cities across the country.

The Democrats argue that very few bad registrations make it all the way to City clerks, but I (don't) know 211,000 non-existant Detroiters who'd take issue with that claim.

And with the new year, primary races begin to shape up and take form for many of those offices.  One race is way out ahead of the field... but this right here, this is a RightMichigan first.

Senator Cameron Brown is making an official announcement to the state-at-large tomorrow but he reached out to your friendly neighborhood conservative blogging community before going to the same old gatekeepers.  Every cycle candidates make their announcements at giant rallies, at fundraisers, via press release... not this announcement.  That's right... you're reading it here FIRST!

As we move through the year Right Michigan will be working hard to bring you profiles, updates and interviews with the men and women who will occupy all of our political discussions throughout the cycle and we're today is no different.  

So without further ado, check out our interview with Senator Brown and his big announcement below the break!

Stay tuned Wednesday for the first interview in the state (so to speak) with the third Republican to jump into the Secretary of State's race.  We'll also be restarting our weekly segment featuring sit-downs with GOP lawmakers to explore their passions, legislative efforts and experiences at the state Capitol.  But first, today, we've got a second segment with the first SoS candidate to enter the race, Calhoun County Clerk and Register of Deeds Anne Norlander.

We first caught up with Anne a little more than a month ago today.  Several weeks later in our discussion with Senator Michelle McManus we tackled a few very specific, very important issues that we hadn't broached with Anne so I wanted to go back and make sure we got a sense of where both candidates stood.

So without further ado...

And with the new year, primary races begin to shape up and take form for many of those offices.  One that is shaping up faster than the others is the Republican Primary field for the Secretary of State's office.

As we move through the year Right Michigan will be working hard to bring you profiles, updates and interviews with the men and women who will occupy all of our political discussions throughout the cycle and we're starting today.

Several weeks ago I had a chance to speak with Calhoun County Clerk and Register of Deeds Anne Norlander, our first official candidate for Secretary of State.  

Today she's got company.  State Senator Michelle McManus just announced her intention to seek the same office and was good enough to take a few minutes to speak with RightMichigan about her background, her platform and elections in Michigan.

So where does she stand on issues like no-reason absentee voting, photo ID and the timely resolution of campaign finance complaints?

You'll have to read below the fold to find out...