As others see it: Ritchie's political act

• Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie listens to a Norm Coleman attorney’s argument Thursday during the State Canvassing Board’s review of ballots challenged during the U.S. Senate recount. Pioneer Photo/Scott Wente

Talk about it

If it looks like a partisan act and sounds like a partisan act …

Most important, if interest groups without exception line up as they would with a partisan act …

Then it’s probably a partisan act.

Sorry, Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. But you stand accused of letting your Democratic Party affiliation influence what should be your office’s most neutral and nonpolitical role: administering Minnesota’s elections.

In the past few weeks, Ritchie has discarded the Legislature-approved titles of two amendments that will be on the November ballot and replaced them with his own.

So, the Voter ID amendment, which originally was titled “Photo Identification Required for Voting,” now will be titled “Changes to in-person & absentee voting & voter registration; provisional ballots.”

And the anti-same-sex marriage amendment, which the Legislature had titled “Recognition of Marriage Solely Between One Man and One Woman,” under Ritchie’s hand has become “Limiting the Status of Marriage to Opposite Sex Couples.”

The evidence is in on Ritchie’s renaming. And the “jury” has reached a verdict:

Virtually all Democrats and liberal groups who have spoken out have supported Ritchie’s action. Virtually all Republicans and conservative groups who’ve said their piece have opposed it.

Just as important, there’s no crossover: No Republicans are coming to Ritchie’s defense. No Democrats are saying he acted unwisely.

In other words, Ritchie’s action in renaming the measures is transparently political. It’s obviously an effort by a person who opposes both amendments to skew the vote in his side’s favor. ...

Tags: opinion, minnesota, politics