News that Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has been uninvited to speak at a south Minneapolis Catholic church may be premature, according to church officials. Ritchie was scheduled to talk before mass on Aug. 12 at St. Joan of Arc. A spokesman for the archdiocese had reportedly said that invitation was being rescinded over Ritchie's efforts to change wording of the proposed marriage amendment.

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie is changing the title of the constitutional amendment to “Changes to in-person & absentee voting & voter registration; provisional ballots." Sponsors of the measure, seeking to require voters to show a photo ID before casting a ballot, want the question titled "Photo Identification Required for Voting." Ritchie is being sued for changing the title on the marriage amendment question.

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's changes to the title that will appear over the marriage amendment on the fall ballot came under attack in papers filed with the state Supreme Court. Lawyers for Republican lawmakers and other backers of the amendment say Ritchie's changes will make voters less likely to approve the Constitutional amendment. They also argue that it's up to the Legislature - not the Secretary of State - to write the title. A hearing before the court is coming up later this month.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has submitted the title “Limiting the Status of Marriage to Opposite Sex Couples" to Attorney General Lori Swanson for final approval, the Associated Press reports. Supporters of the constitutional amendment want it titled, "Recognition of Marriage Solely Between One Man and One Woman."

Minnesota's Secretary of State Mark Ritchie told WCCO on Sunday that St. Louis County could delay statewide Election Day results more than previous elections. Ritchie said three write-in candidates looking to replace former state Rep. Kerry Gauthier will have to be hand counted. “We estimate that this may go to 1 a.m., 2 a.m., perhaps a little bit longer, in the morning,” he said.

Catholics for Marriage Equality Minnesota wants Archbishop John Nienstedt to put a stop to the church's support a state Constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. The archdiocese has been a leading contributor to the campaign.

The pro-marriage amendment group Minnesota for Marriage Friday called into question Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's actions after he unilaterally rewrote the title of the ballot question Thursday without warning. The group is requesting correspondence between Ritchie and state Attorney General Lori Swanson, who are both Democrats, and other documents. The group says the new phrasing hurts their cause.

Former Roman Catholic priest Jim Smith left the church about 10 years ago. He told CNN his main concern was with the church's stance against same-sex marriage. Smith says he is still a Catholic despite actively campaigning against Minnesota's constitutional amendment that would define marriage as only between one man and one woman. He has also formed a group to persuade other Catholics to vote against the measure this fall.