About Us | CEIMN: Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota

We are a state-wide, nonpartisan organization that advocates for verifable and accurate elections. We have organized four state-wide non-partisan observations of audits or recounts in Minnesota, including the 2008 recounts.

We formed shortly after the 2004 election. We were troubled by reports of electronic voting problems, the disenfranchisement of minority voters, discarded ballots and other voting irregularites. Our initial focus was supporting the Ohio recount to which we sent nine observers from Minnesota. (See our op ed on the resources page.)

Our primary purpose is to ensure that votes are counted accurately. We educate citizens about our election system, publicize concerns about voting technology, encourage citizen participation in the election process and lobby our government officials to support election reform.

Our efforts are part of a burgeoning national voting rights movement committed to restoring the integrity of our electoral system through the implementation of:

Voter verified paper ballots as the legal ballot of record for all elections.
Accurate recording, counting, and reporting of all votes properly cast.
Random hand recounts that are part of routine audits.
Consistent enforcement of election procedures to ensure that everyone who wants to vote can do so without difficulty and to prevent all forms of vote fraud.
Public oversight (eg of voting machine software source code) and non-partisan administration of the election system.

Our primary focus is on these issues, but we also support related election reform efforts and the democratization of the election process as outlined in the Voter Bill of Rights (see resources page under handouts.)

Director and Founder - Mark Halvorson

Mark was an observer to the 2004 Ohio Presidential recount. In 2005 he served as co-chair of the legislatively mandated voting machines options working group. In 2006 CEIMN played a role in improving Minnesota’s current audit law and coordinated the nations first citizen based observation of a post-election audit.

In 2007 Mark helped to organize the first national audit summit, served on the Brennan Center Audit Panel and testified before a New Jersey State Senate committee on their proposed audit bill. The New Jersey law, considered the most comprehensive audit law in the country, was signed into law in January 2008. Mark consults closely with election integrity leaders across the country on audit legislation and currently serves on the League of Women Voters national audit working group. Prior to directing CEIMN he worked as a social worker for 15 years and before that as a community organizer for 10 years.

Audit Observation Project Coordinator - Sarah Martyn Crowell

Sarah is a graduate of the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs where she earned her Master of Public Policy degree, focusing on race and civic engagement. She is an adjunct professor at St. Catherine's College, teaching in the Liberal Arts Studies department. For several years Sarah has been a community organizer working to connect universities and local communities. She has also organized a number of community and volunteer projects with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and the Science Museum of Minnesota's "Race: Are We So Different?" exhibit. She has a passion for civic participation and ensuring that every voice counts.

CEIMN Organizing Committee

Bert Berlowe
Kathy Bonnifield
Catherine Dorr
Linda Goodspeed
Carol Johnson
Kirk Lund
Mark Malmberg
Jim Moechnig
Nancy Rose-Balamut