WOOD - TV

Candidates for secretary of state campaign
October 23, 2002

Butch Hollowell says voting rights are in his DNA. His cousin was a voting rights attorney for Martin Luther King. Hollowell is an expert in election law. He advises clerks across the state and even went to Florida to sort out the "Election 2000" mess.If elected, the Democrat would push for optical scan voting and similar ballots to make voting more fair and accurate.The Detroit man also says he'd jump-start the state's car repair fraud bureau - putting investigators behind the wheel instead of the desk.

He hasn't held public office, but he ran an office of five thousand as an assistant county executive - experience he says will serve him well.Terri Land is no stranger to the ballot - or to West Michigan.

The Republican candidate for secretary of state served two terms as Kent County clerk.Her goal is better customer service.That means extended hours at branch offices, even opening them on Saturdays. She'll also give employees power to make decisions at the desk to keep things moving so there will be shorter lines.

She'll also push to let anyone vote by absentee ballot and consolidate elections, so voters will only go to the polls a few times a year.Like hollowell, Land says her experience makes her the best qualified candidate.

Ray Ziarno wants to shake things up, too.He calls the current voting system "dysfunctional."So as secretary of state, he'd push for a combination of legislative action and citizen reaction to get reforms.The Green Party candidate says he'd to increase voter turnout by making election day a holiday. He also wants to make the job non-partisan.

He'd also wants public financing of judicial campaigns and instant runoff voting.On the automotive end, the Lansing man promises to let people use their credit cards at branch offices and install public bathrooms to ease long waits.He calls himself a real alternative to the two major parties.Charles Conces says he breaks the major party mold, too.

The U. S. Taxpayers party candidate runs a website for a group called the "Lawmen." The Battle Creek man is not a lawyer, but he compiled legal research he says people can use if they're being hounded by the government.

If elected, conces promises to go after the I. R. S. - telling the group to shape up or he'll ship them out of Michigan.He'll also set up a hotline for citizens to report corruption - because he says most judges are corrupt and townships, cities, counties, and state break laws on a regular basis.