About Us

Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota (CEIMN) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advocates for verifiable, transparent, and accurate elections in Minnesota and across the country. CEIMN was formed shortly after the 2004 election, after learning of reports in Ohio of electronic voting problems, the disenfranchisement of minority voters, discarded ballots, and other voting irregularities.

CEIMN’s initial program focus was to send nine volunteers from Minnesota, to observe the Ohio presidential recount. Since 2004 CEIMN

• has advocated for post-election audits in Minnesota and across the United States (see Principles and Best Practices for Post-Election Audits)
• organized six state-wide non-partisan observations of post-election audits and recounts in Minnesota;
• written a report that corrected inaccurate data which lead to the eventual correction of a Heritage Foundation, Minnesota’s Elections — Transparent, Verifiable, and Accurate (February 2010);
• written a report Facts About Ineligible Voting and Voter Fraud in Minnesota, based on data from Minnesota County Attorneys (November 2010) that determined that a photo ID requirement will not improve the integrity of Minnesota's elections;
• created one-of-a kind databases, which highlight recount and post-election audit laws; and
• advocated against the implementation of a photo ID requirement.

CEIMN’s activities include

• educating others about election systems,
• researching and reporting concerns connected to our mission,
• encouraging citizen participation in the election process,
• partnering with other election-integrity groups, and
• advocating for election reform that will improve the system and that will not disenfranchise voters. 

CEIMN’s efforts are part of a national voting rights movement committed to restoring the integrity of our electoral system through

• implementation voter verified paper ballots as the legal ballot of record for all elections;
• accurate recording, counting, and reporting of all votes properly cast;
• consistent enforcement of election procedures to ensure that all eligible voters can vote without difficulty;
•  public oversight and nonpartisan administration of the election system; and
• random hand-counts of ballots that are part of post-election audits.

Excutive Director - Kathy Bonnifield

Kathy has worked in the non-profit world for over 10 years. Early in her career she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sri Lanka and Nepal. Upon returning to the States, she joined the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), where she worked as the Manager of Individual and Institutional Philanthropy and later volunteered for CVT in Turkey as a Communication and Logistics Specialist as part of its New Tactics in Human Rights Symposium. Before being hired by CEIMN, she worked as a Program Administrator for The McKnight Foundation.

Her election-related experience includes working as an election judge for Ramsey County and the City of Minneapolis. She has also been on a number of election observation missions with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe as well as nonpartisan observations of the 2011 elections in Wisconsin. Starting in early 2006, she applied the knowledge she gained as an international election observer as a volunteer with CEIMN.

Intern- Kenza Hadj-Moussa

Kenza Hadj-Moussa is pursuing her Master’s in Advocacy and Political Leadership at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She is a seasoned organizer and has helped lead several statewide advocacy campaigns. She became very passionate about voting rights while coordinating a nonpartisan voter engagement effort with people experiencing homelessness in 2010. Kenza is the Communications Associate for the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless. She has a degree in Economics from Guilford College. She will be interning with CEIMN until she graduates this spring.

CEIMN Board of Directors

Linda Goodspead

Mark Halvorson

Iris Kiedrowski

Carol Johnson

Jim Moechnig

Mark Priore

Jenny Thomas

Jessica Trites Rolle