Voter ID bill gets final OK from House

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A proposal to let Minnesotans decide on whether to require voters to present government-issued photo identification cleared its final hurdle in the House.A vote on the Senate floor now awaits HF2738*/ SF1577. Sponsored by Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) and Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), the bill proposes amending the state’s constitution so that voters must prove their identity using an approved form of photo ID.The House and Senate passed different versions of the bill in late March, and members of a conference committee signed off on a compromise version Tuesday morning. On a 72-57 party-line vote, the House re-passed the bill as amended by conference. If the Senate follows suit, the following question will be put to the voters in November:“Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require all voters to present valid photo identification to vote and to require the state to provide free identification to eligible voters, effective July 1, 2013?”A majority of voters would have to approve the amendment on this fall’s General Election ballot in order for it to take effect. The next Legislature would then be tasked with passing an enabling law spelling out the details of how the photo ID requirement would be implemented.Passing a photo ID requirement has long been a top priority for Republican lawmakers, who say it’s needed to ensure the integrity of the state’s elections. Continue Reading

Conferees reach agreement on voter ID bill

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A plan to require voters to show government-issued photo ID might be just a couple of floor votes away from being placed on this November’s ballot.Members of a conference committee reached an agreement on HF2738*/ SF1577. Sponsored by Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) and Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), the bill proposes amending the state’s constitution so that voters would have to present an approved photo ID card at their polling place on Election Day. If approved by a majority of voters, it would fall on the next Legislature to pass enabling legislation spelling out exactly how the photo ID requirement would be implemented.Conferees voted to adopt a conference report that contains some key differences from the versions passed by the House and Senate. These include:removing language added on the Senate floor that would have allowed for technologies “equivalent” to photo ID to meet the necessary requirements;requiring “substantially equivalent identity and eligibility verification” for absentee and mail-in voters (previous versions referred to “eligibility verification” only); anda substantially shorter ballot question than had been proposed by the Senate.The committee allowed a limited amount of public testimony on the bill. Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-St. Continue Reading

Senate passes voter ID bill

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Minnesota is another step closer to having a photo ID constitutional amendment on the November ballot.The amendment, which will require people to present photo identification to vote, passed 36-30 Friday night after roughly six hours of debate in the Senate. All the “yes” votes came from Republicans. One Republican voted with every Democratic-Farmer-Labor senator in voting “no.”Since the Senate version is slightly different from the House version that passed earlier this week, House and Senate negotiators will have to reconcile minor differences in a conference committee between the two and adopt a final version. The House could also choose to simply accept the different language in the Senate bill.Once it clears that final hurdle, it will be go before voters in November.Gov. Mark Dayton cannot veto a constitutional amendment.The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, said it’s necessary in order to prevent election fraud and to ensure that elections are legitimate.Opponents said that there are few instances of voter fraud in Minnesota and that any photo ID requirement will likely disenfranchise thousands of people.Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, DFL–Minneapolis, said the requirement will essentially end same-day voter registration, which is a popular among Minnesota voters, because the secretary of state “would not be able to verify a person’s identity fast enough to allow people to vote the same day.”“We will have very little choice but to eliminate same-day voter registration as a result of this legislation,” Torres Ray said.DFLers said more than 500,000 Minnesota voters used same-day registration in 2008.Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, who oversees the states elections and opposes the photo ID requirement, has said he has concerns the amendment will kill same-day registration and the possibility for a new system of “provisional voting” will harm the state’s election system.Provisional ballots are votes cast on election day but they’re not counted until voters make a second trip to election officials with a required government-issued ID. Provisional ballots don’t currently exist in Minnesota.DFLers offered numerous amendments to the requirement, but none passed.An amendment from Sen. John Howe, R-Red Wing, that would allow future legislators to use new technology for identification purposes overwhelmingly passed.Before the Senate debate started, roughly 300 people protested the proposed amendment with signs saying, “All our voices count,” taping $1 bills over their mouths to signify their belief that corporate interests were stealing the public’s voice, and singing hymns that echoed throughout the Capitol.Newman said the Legislature will have to take up some of the details of the bill next year.He admitted that “some burden will be placed on our citizens,” but he remained confident that the amendment will improve Minnesota’s election system. “On balance, I believe this amendment is the right thing to do,” he said. Continue Reading

Voter ID amendment sent to House floor

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A proposed constitutional amendment that would require photo identification for voting is headed for the House floor.Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) sponsors HF2738 that proposes a requirement for voters to show a government-issued photo ID card at their polling places. In order to take effect, the change would have to be approved by a majority of voters on this November’s ballot.The House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee approved the bill on a party-line vote of 13-10. Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson) sponsors the companion,  SF1577, which awaits action by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.DFLers on the committee argued that a provision allowing for absentee voting would create different identity verification standards for different voters. They also argued that requiring photo ID could lead to suppressed turnout among certain groups of voters.Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka) said the proposal was “very partisan” and left unanswered questions about how a photo ID requirement would be implemented.“Constitutional amendments ought to be bipartisan,” Benson said.DFLers also accused the chairman, House Majority Leader Matt Dean (R-Dellwood), of cutting the debate short. Dean responded that limiting the debate was appropriate because the committee only had limited purview over the bill.“I allowed questions to stray very far outside that purview,” Dean noted. Continue Reading

Minnesota Majority claims to find voter impersonation fraud

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Minnesota Majority’s Dan McGrath says his organization has found evidence of voter impersonation fraud. Minnesota American Civil Liberties Union’s Chuck Samuelson says the fact that it was caught and prosecuted proves Minnesota doesn’t need voter photo ID.Last month, the ACLU offered a $1,000 bounty for finding who someone who has been charged or convicted with impersonating a Minnesota voter after January 1, 2002. Continue Reading

Voter ID amendment heard by first committee

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A proposal to let Minnesotans vote on whether to require government-issued photo identification cards for voters had its first committee hearing.Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) sponsors HF2738 that proposes amending the state’s constitution to require photo ID for voting. The House Government Operations and Elections Committee took testimony on the bill, recessed and is scheduled to take up the bill again later tonight.Kiffmeyer said a photo ID requirement would ensure the integrity of the state’s elections as well as the opportunity for all eligible voters to cast their ballots. She said that while voting is sacred, a voter’s identity is not.“Who you are and where you live is a matter of the public right to know,” Kiffmeyer said.The Legislature passed a voter ID requirement in 2011, but Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed it. Kiffmeyer’s bill would put the question directly to voters, bypassing the governor’s approval. Under the delete-all amendment offered by Kiffmeyer, the following question would be posed to voters on this November’s ballot:“Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require all voters to present valid photo identification on election day and that the state provide free identification to eligible voters?”If approved by a majority of voters, it would fall on the next Legislature to pass enabling legislation spelling out exactly how the photo ID requirement would be implemented.Secretary of State Mark Ritchie testified in opposition to the bill. Continue Reading

Voter ID alternative gets informational hearing

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A plan to institute a photo ID requirement for voters remains controversial among lawmakers, but members of a House committee got their first glimpse at a possible bipartisan alternative.Secretary of State Mark Ritchie appeared before the House State Government Finance Committee to demonstrate the use of electronic poll books. The technology consists of laptop computers containing updated voter registration data and photos provided by Driver and Vehicle Services. Proponents say providing electronic poll books for polling places would allow for the verification of voters’ identities without subjecting them to a photo ID requirement.“It allows us to accomplish the very important task of bringing visual verification of voters into the polling place,” Ritchie said. He added, “It’s something that can be done very easily and relatively quickly.”Supporters say electronic poll books represent a less burdensome alternative to the photo ID law proposed by Republican lawmakers. Instead of requiring all voters to obtain a government-issued photo ID card with a current address on it, the electronic poll books would simply utilize the state’s current voter registration system, but with the added benefit of being able to identify voters visually.Some doubt the value of such a system, however. Continue Reading

Does Secretary of State Mark Ritchie have a DFL voter ID plan?

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UPDATED 7:45 p.m., 2/27/2012 — With DFLers in the legislature united in opposition to Republican plans for a constitutional amendment to require voter IDs, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has jumped into the battle with a plan of his own. Ritchie says his plan for electronic poll books satisfies the Republicans’ call for voter IDs, without suppressing voter participation or disenfranchising anyone.Solution in search of a problemThe exact provisions of the Republican plan are far from clear, since Republicans are pushing slightly different proposals in the Minnesota House and Senate. What is clear, according to opponents ranging from the League of Women Voters to the AARP, is that the proposals for a Voter ID amendment would result in voter disenfranchisement. Opponents of the Republican proposals also call them “a solution in search of a problem,” insisting that Minnesota does not have a voter fraud problem. In fact, the very few illegal voting charges that have been brought recently focus primarily on felons voting — which the voter ID would do nothing to stop.Voter ID opponents see the push for an amendment as a move targeting young people, old people, poor people, and ethnic minorities. Continue Reading