A controversial GOP-sponsored elections bill requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls is nearing the governor’s desk after clearing the Minnesota House Thursday. The measure passed on a 73-to-59 largely party-line vote after the Senate approved a similar bill last week.
The unified show of Republican support is just the latest signal that the issue has become a top GOP priority. Anticipating a likely veto from Gov. Mark Dayton, Republican lawmakers have already introduced a constitutional amendment proposal that would bypass the governor and put the issue on the ballot in 2012.
“Minnesotans are yearning for a voting system in Minnesota that removes the uncertainty that we’ve seen in the past few elections” said Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa.
The bill would also eliminate vouching for Election Day registrants and create a new system of provisional balloting. The state would begin doling out free voter identification to people without an appropriate ID if they could prove their citizenship and provide a “photographic identity document.”
Full Article: Voter ID-card bill clears House | StarTribune.com.