Secretary of State says phone call intimidated voter

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie oversees Minnesota's election system.
MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire

(AP) - Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie says he has asked prosecutors to look into a phone call that intimidated a voter.

Ritchie says Larry Johnson of St. Paul got a call from a woman who claimed to be working with the secretary of state's office on voter fraud. She had questions about his voting record.

Johnson signed an affidavit saying the woman later told him she was working with Jeff Davis, the head of a conservative group, Minnesota Majority, that has been questioning the integrity of Minnesota's voter rolls.

Davis didn't immediately return a phone message.

Ritchie says he has forwarded the case to the Ramsey County and U.S. attorneys.

He is urging voters to report any such calls to his office.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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