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.

Mayors R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis and Chirs Coleman of St. Paul say a requirement that Minnesotans show a photo ID to vote would drive up the costs of holding an election. They call the change an unfunded mandate and say it could force local governments to raise property taxes. The Minnesota Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on a lawsuit challenging the question slated to appear on the November ballot.

If the Republican Senate also passes it, voters in the general election this November will decide whether to amend the state's constitution to require that voters present a valid photo ID before they can cast a ballot.

Proposals for a constitutional amendment requiring photo IDs at polls are just a step away from reaching the House and Senate floors, MinnPost reports. Constitutional amendments, if approved by the Legislature, go straight to voters. They do not require Gov. Dayton's signature, so he cannot veto them.

Groups that are challenging the proposed Constitutional amendment that would require an ID to vote filed paperwork with the Minnesota Supreme Court in advance of the hearing later this month. They say if the court approves the ballot question as is, it will send the message that the Legislature is free to mislead or deceive voters.

Two new Minnesota Polls by the Star Tribune find a statistical dead head in the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, but a slight edge for support of a constitutional change that would require voters to show a government-issued photo ID.

The Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday afternoon in a lawsuit aimed at keeping the voter ID constitutional amendment off of the statewide ballot. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, League of Women Voters Minnesota and other anti-amendment groups are asking the court to strike down the ballot question. They claim its wording is too vague and misleading.

Black voters in Minnesota are the latest audience sought by opponents and supporters of marriage amendment, the Star Tribune reports. The president of the national NAACP was in the state Monday to urge black voters to reject the ballot measure that would ban gay marriage. Church leaders are divided.