Republicans introduce bill to implement voter ID through amendment

A group of Republican senators have introduced a bill that would have voters decide a controversial election reform measure this fall. Introducing a voter ID requirement as an amendment to the state constitution means the measure would bypass a threatened veto from Democratic Gov. Dayton.

Author:: BMTN Staff
Updated:: Mar 8, 2018
Original:: Jan 26, 2012

A group of Republican senators have introduced a bill that would have voters decide a controversial election reform measure this fall. Introducing a voter ID requirement as an amendment to the state constitution means the measure would bypass a threatened veto from Democratic Gov. Dayton.

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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.

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.

An all-Republican group drafted and passed a controversial bill that brings together the House and Senate proposals. The compromise plan now returns to the Legislature for a full and final vote, which would officially put it on the November ballot for voters to decide. The issue is highly partisan. It has been a key goal of the Republican majority but hasn't attracted any support from Democrats.

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 Senate Local Government and Elections Committee passed the voter ID bill on a party-line vote, with DFLers opposing it. The measure has several more stops before it would appear on the November ballot as a proposed Constitutional amendment.

Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a Republican-backed law last spring that would require voters to show ID at the polls. But now, a group of legislators has introduced a bill that would put the matter in front of voters later this year as a constitutional amendment. Dayton would not be able to override it if approved.

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.

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.

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