Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and Members of the Committee: Don't Take Away
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Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Don’t take away local rights. Local governments know what is best for their communities. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, Karen Schultz 5304 Fremont Ave S Minneapolis, MN 55419 --Hi. My name is Jennifer Schally. I live in Stillwater. I am a 5th generation Minnesotan. It's shocking that Senator Mary Kiffmeyer, a small government Republican, is literally using the boot of big state gov't to stomp on small local gov't by trying to pass this preemption law stopping small gov'ts to make their own decisions of Ranked Choice Voting. That is shocking hypocrisy & goes completely against the Republican party platform of supporting small gov't. Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Don’t take away local rights. Local governments know what is best for their communities. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, Jennifer Schally 1104 Creekside Cir Stillwater, MN 55082 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Please consider the benefits of RCV rather than seeking to ban it. It gives us all more voice on what and who we vote for. Sincerely, Thomas Alcivar 7201 Mt Curve Rd Minneapolis, MN 55438 Please do not take away local rights by banning ranked choice voting. Local governments, that I am sure you support and represent, can determine what method is best for their communities and can successfully adapt if new methods are selected. Please respect the will and resourcefulness of local leaders. Therefore, I urge you to remove the measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill that would prevent ranked choice voting from being implemented by local governments. Sincerely, Ryan Swanson 10036 105th St Milaca, MN 56353 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Rank choice voting will help give voters more options and I believe will help create an elected busy that is willing to work together. Sincerely, Zhexin Zhang 1455 Bethesda Cir Chanhassen, MN 55317 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Our founders were very concerned about having majority rule, and Abigail Adams, wife of an early president, wanted a way for women to be adequately elected. RCV is that way! Don’t take away local rights. Local governments know what is best for their communities. Also, RCV helps lower the temperature of our political discourse, away from discord. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, Diane Steen-Hinderlie 2829 Yosemite Ave S Minneapolis, MN 55416 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Please just stop being anti-democratic, voting is our most important right and everyone's voice should be heard. Don’t take away local rights. Local governments know what is best for their communities. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, ANTHONY PIERCE 1235 Raymond Ave Saint Paul, MN 55108 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Don’t take away local rights. Local governments know what is best for their communities. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, Ryan Featherstone 8319 Cedarview Cir Savage, MN 55378 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Rank Choice Voting promotes democracy. It should be a bipartisan effort because everyone benefits from RCV. The public is encouraged to vote rather than feeling defeated before they even go to the polls. RCV eliminates the spoiler ballot. You need to support RCV and stop opposing it. Don’t take away local rights. Local governments know what is best for their communities. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, Katherine Schafer 3225 Aldrich Ave S Minneapolis, MN 55408 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Don’t take away local rights. Local governments know what is best for their communities. Attempting to do so is anti-democratic in my view. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, Barbara Speedling 9530 Grand Ave S Minneapolis, MN 55420 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Don’t take away local rights. Local governments know what is best for their communities. We have been using RCV in several Minnesota cities with great success for more than a few years. It is neither complicated nor confusing. When St. Paul first used RCV for its mayoral election, I volunteered outside a busy polling place (at a legal distance, of course) to answer any voter questions. I do not recall anyone having any questions. I cannot think of an ethical, intellectually honest reason to be opposed to Ranked Choice Voting. So my conclusion is that some politicians (from both major parties) see RCV, with its enhanced democracy and voter choice, as a threat to their entrenched power and electability. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, Steven Zekowski 2341 Copperfield Dr Mendota Heights, MN 55120 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: I am a voter in Saint Louis Park. Please do not take away Ranked Choice Voting from my city. Local governments know what is best for their communities. We have chosen RCV and we like it. I think that our state-wide elections would benefit from RCV and the elected officials would have greater support. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, Timothy Bardell 2333 Parkwoods Rd Minneapolis, MN 55416 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Taking away local government rights is going in the opposite direction from what is needed to protect our democracy -- we must give voice at all levels of government. Local governments know what is best for their communities. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. And I urge you to give a hearing to SF 218 which would allow adoption of RCV statewide. RCV will be a game changer in reducing the polarization, gridlock, and negativity in our society. Sincerely, Cecily HInes 1120 S 2nd St Minneapolis, MN 55415 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: As a Catholic, I am a firm believer in the principle of subsidiarity and the value of local control. The state government should not interfere with voter's rights to determine how their local elections are run, so long as these elections are free, fair, and accessible. Voters know what is best for their communities. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, Patrick Cruitt 2633 Pillsbury Ave Minneapolis, MN 55408 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Don’t take away local rights. Local governments know what is best for their communities. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Additionally I urge you to support SF 218 to allow Ranked Choice Voting statewide. This is a proven way to encourage more candidates and more voter participation in a true democratic way. Thank you for this consideration. Sincerely, Larry Day 1805 Ives Ln N Plymouth, MN 55441 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Ranked Choice Voting better reflects voter preferences and should be implemented in MN. I had no idea why you are trying to suppress a policy that would give voters a clearer voice in choosing their leaders. Sincerely, Mary Yee 6704 West Trail Minneapolis, MN 55439 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Don’t take away local rights. Local governments know what is best for their communities. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, cindy banchy 13776 Danbury Path Rosemount, MN 55068 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: I support Ranked Choice Voting, at every level. I think it is more democratic than the traditional winner take all, first-past-the-post system. It's easy to understand, broadens participation, and my personal experience with it, in my city, has been nothing but positive. Other cities in Minnesota should be able to try it if they want to. I urge you to remove the anti-local control, anti-Ranked Choice Voting measure from the SF 1831 omnibus bill. Sincerely, Jeff Nygaard 2609 S 6th St Minneapolis, MN 55454 Dear Chair Kiffmeyer and members of the Committee: Too often, when there are multiple candidates in an election the victor receives less than 40% of the vote. In partisan races, a minor party's candidate can "spoil" results for a major party candidate, resulting in a victor the majority of voters did not want. Last year, some candidates were even recruited and supported with the specific intent of spoiling the election. Partisan elections have been tending to advance extreme candidates, leaving little room for moderates to claim a middle ground. We can do better than this. Please allow local governments to continue to choose solutions that allow them to best determine and reflect the will of their voters.