Questions for Secretary of State Candidates

By Glenn McMillon, Jr.

ABC7 NextGenPolitics

1. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and why you feel you are qualified to hold this office.

My name is Glenn McMillon, Jr. I was born and raised here in the Bay Area. I graduated from MIT with a BS in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. While at MIT I was elected treasurer of the MIT Pro-Life Club. Currently, I serve on the Board of Directors of the East Oakland Church of Christ and work as a Research Assistant at the VA in San Francisco while running my own legal services business part-time.

I am not a politician; I am just a regular guy who cares deeply about the state of California. I am not beholden to any special interest group. I fight for the principles that I believe in.

To find out more about my campaign, see my website at http://www.myspace.com/mcmillon2006 or email me at gmcmillon@prepaidlegal.com.

2. Please tell us your general views about the role of government and some of the most important things you would like to accomplish in office.

The role of State government is to manage state-wide projects and enforce the law. The smallest government that is able to do those things is the government that we want. The government as it is now is much too big and spends money much too recklessly. We need to cut spending, shrink government, and enforce the laws we have on the books.

As Secretary of State, I would like to improve the integrity of the voting system of California. We need to require valid ID to be presented at the polls to prevent voter fraud. Electronic voting machines need to print out a voter-verified record of the votes cast. We also need to implement a ranked-choice instant-runoff voting system to allow the voters the greatest freedom of choice and make sure no vote is wasted.

3. Many voters have expressed concern about the level of influence special interest groups exert on office holders. If elected, what steps would you take to avoid conflicts of interest between campaign contributed and your official duties?

I have not and will not take any money from any corporation or special interest group. If elected, I will work to make such contributions illegal to further preserve the integrity of the political process.

4. What is your opinion regarding the integrity of electronic voting systems being used in California? Would you require electronic voting machines to produce a verifiable paper trail? What other steps would you take to ensure that Californians have confidence in our election system?

I share the concerns of the voters with regards to the possibilities of fraud and accidental data loss surrounding the current electronic voting machines. Electronic voting machines need to print out a voter-verified record of the votes cast in case machines break down or are otherwise compromised.

5. Do you favor or oppose either reducing the current 14 day deadline prior to the election for voter registration or creating a system that allows people to register to vote on Election Day?

I would oppose reducing the deadline. We need the 14 day window in order to properly verify the registration information and make sure that the person registering is indeed eligible to vote. Reducing the deadline opens the system to even more fraud and it would be difficult to correct the votes after they had already been cast illegally.

6. What steps would you take to help improve voter turnout in California?

Increased voter turnout is not intrinsically desirable, as many people seem to think. I would rather see fewer well-informed voters than more ill-informed voters any day. That being said, the reason many people don't vote is that they feel they don't have a real choice and that their votes do not count. The only way to remedy this problem is to increase the number of options available to voters and make sure that no vote is wasted. This means making it easier for smaller parties to gain ballot access and implementing a ranked-choice instant-runoff election system. That way people could vote their conscience without feeling like their vote is being wasted, and every vote would then contribute to the election of the eventual winner.

7. Do you think Internet voting will ever be viable in California and if so, what steps would you take to determine if this method of voting could work here?

While the convenience of voting from the comfort of your own home is attractive, I have serious doubts that it could ever be done. All the problems with the current electronic voting machines apply to personal computers as well. In addition, there is the additional threat of hackers who could throw the whole election into chaos. Until there is a fool-proof way to identify voters online while being completely secure from hackers, internet voting will not be viable.

8. How do you feel about the current system for reporting campaign contributions and making that information available to voters? What steps, if any, would you take to make it easier for voters to get summary information or otherwise identify the main sources of each candidate's campaign contributions?

I believe that candidates need to be more open about who their contributors are. Having that information available on the Secretary of State website is great, but I would like to see candidates also have this information on their own websites.