Democratic Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have required voters to provide photo identification to cast votes. Dayton cited a lack of broad bi-partisan support for the bill and its potential as a $23 million unfunded mandate on local governments in part for his veto. The Republican-led Legislature had sent the bill to him on Monday.
… Dayton said he did not believe voter fraud to be a significant problem in Minnesota and that the reason most often cited for requiring photo identification, felons voting, would not be resolved by the bill.
“We have the highest voter turnout year after year and under intense, bipartisan scrutiny, the recent statewide recounts have highlighted how reliable the results are,” Dayton said in a letter notifying the Senate of his veto.
… Dayton’s letter quoted former Republican Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, now a presidential candidate, in saying that changes to the election process should be bi-partisan.
Dayton signed an executive order establishing a bi-partisan task force to make recommendations by January 15, 2013, on ways to modernize the state’s voting, including fraud prevention.
Full Article: Minnesota governor vetoes voter identification bill | Reuters.