Republican legislators plan to take their case for a photo ID requirement for voters directly to the voters themselves. Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, who oversaw Minnesota’s voting system as secretary of state from 1999 to 2007, and Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, have introduced the photo ID concept as a proposed constitutional amendment. It would require all voters to produce an “approved form of photographic identification prior to voting.” If it passes the Republican-controlled House and Senate, the proposal would go directly onto the November ballot for voters to decide. Unlike bills and budgets, where the governor can use his veto pen, Gov. Mark Dayton has no way of blocking or changing a proposed constitutional amendment approved by the Legislature.
Last May, the DFL governor vetoed a bill with a photo ID requirement for voters. The bill also would have restricted same-day voter registration and created a new category of “provisional ballots” for those whose IDs were questioned. Dayton said the bill was “based on the premise that voter fraud is a significant problem in Minnesota. I do not believe that to be the case.”
Supporters of photo ID say it is needed to ensure that voters are who they say they are. “I think that the overwhelming majority of the people in Minnesota support this,” Newman said in introducing the amendment Thursday. “I think it is frankly important from a standpoint of protecting the integrity of our election process.” Kiffmeyer, who sponsored last year’s vetoed photo ID bill, said this week that she had considered reintroducing it as a bill this year. But, she said, in light of federal action to block an ID law in South Carolina, she now believes submitting it as a constitutional amendment is necessary.
Full Article: Minnesota GOP wants voter ID on the ballot in November | StarTribune.com.