If voter ID law passes, then what? Details at issue

Passage of the voter ID constitutional amendment next month would require Minnesotans to bring a government-issued photo identification to the polls when they vote, beginning in 2013. But the devil is in the details. The Pioneer Press reports that critics say the specifics still aren't clear – what kind of ID, what happens if you don’t have one, how much it would cost and who pays? The 2013 Legislature could be left to sort it out.

Author:
BMTN Staff
Updated:
Mar 8, 2018
Original:
Oct 10, 2012

Passage of the voter ID constitutional amendment next month would require Minnesotans to bring a government-issued photo identification to the polls when they vote, beginning in 2013. But the devil is in the details. The Pioneer Press reports that critics say the specifics still aren't clear – what kind of ID, what happens if you don’t have one, how much it would cost and who pays? The 2013 Legislature could be left to sort it out.

The issue was a hot topic of discussion in the Maplewood City Council chambers on Tuesday night, WCCO reported. The measure would eliminate voter fraud, supporters say. Opponents say voter fraud is not a widespread problem.

Outspoken opponent of the measure, former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson, said the measure amounts to political mischief by the GOP in its effort to cut the number of left-leaning voters. And he said it could cost up to $100 million to implement, which measure supporters deny. (He and Walter Mondale are leading opponents of the measure.)

Carlson and Mary Kiffmeyer squared off during the forum. In a guest column this week, Kiffmeyer, former secretary of state and the chief Republican author of the measure, makes her case for it.

Here's the WCCO report:

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In a shocking upset, the voter ID amendment has failed, and by a sizable margin. With 98 percent of precincts reporting, the "no" votes led by nearly 8 percentage points, MPR says. The measure would have amended the state constitution to require voters to bring photo IDs to the polls.

Estimates of how much it will cost to implement a voter ID requirement at Minnesota polling places range from a few million dollars to $100 million. The cost is among many details that state lawmakers will need to fill in if residents approve a Constitutional amendment requiring a government-issued ID to vote.

The measure advanced through a House committee on a party-line vote Monday. If the House and Senate pass the proposal, then voters in the November election will decide whether to amend the state constitution to require that all would-be voters present a photo ID before they cast a ballot.

A group opposed to the Voter ID Constitutional amendment Minnesotans will vote on in November estimates changes required by the amendment would cost state and local governments at least $33 million and possibly twice that amount. The Center For Election Integrity Minnesota says individual Minnesotans could spend a similar amount assembling the documents needed to qualify for state-issued IDs.

A legislative commission voted to hire a private law firm to defend the voter ID question lawmakers put on this fall's ballot. Next month the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments in a lawsuit that claims the ballot question does not accurately describe the Constitutional amendment that would require an ID to vote.

A tribal advocacy group says new voter identification laws in a dozen states hinder the ability of some Native Americans to vote, the Associated Press reports. Among the issues is that some homes in tribal communities have no addresses, a new report says. The study cites other issues: "barriers of cost, logistics and distance to obtaining required IDs."

A court case challenging Wisconsin's voter ID law is scheduled for trial on April 16th. The judge's injunction means photo IDs will not be required to vote in the state's election on April 3rd. The judge also said there's a "very substantial likelihood" the plaintiffs will win their challenge of the law.

Minnesotans will vote this fall on a Constitutional amendment that would make a photo ID a requirement to vote. The Republican-backed measure passed the Legislature on party-line votes. Now supporters and critics of the change will ramp up campaigns to influence the public.

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