Posted on 01/27/2012 6:32:18 AM PST by Parmenio
A host of Republican Senators, including Judiciary Chairman Warren Limmer, member of leadership Ted Lillie and Environment Chairman Bill Ingebrigtsen, have introduced a bill to implement a Voter ID requirement by way of constitutional amendment.
A total of 10 senators have signed on to two versions of the bill, SF 1577 and SF 1578, that would bypass Gov. Mark Dayton’s threatened veto and instead put the controversial elections reform measure before voters this fall. The bills will be formally introduced Thursday in the Senate.
The Senate bill’s chief author, Sen. Scott Newman, said Thursday that his bill would simply amend the constitution to require a photo ID for all voters. The legislative specifics of what qualifies as such an ID would be worked out later, Newman said.
“The people of Minnesota, and I, think it is important,” Newman said, saying he wants to move forward on the bill as fast as possible. GOP Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, a former Secretary of State, will carry an identical bill in the House, Newman said.
Voter ID laws have long been a goal of Republicans in Minnesota and around the country, as opponents say they help reduce fraud and protect election integrity. Opponents — mostly Democrats — say they add unnecessary burdens to voting and target typically Democrat-friendly constituencies such as college students, the elderly and minority populations.
Dayton vetoed a Voter ID last session, and a number of Republicans in return vowed to pursue the Voter ID law in the 2012 session via constitutional amendment, which does not require any action from the governor and instead can pass onto the ballot with a simple majority vote in each chamber.
Dayton has already this week said he opposes any elections law changes passed on a partisan basis, as is likely given widespread DFL opposition to the measure. But recent polls have shown more public support for the measure than opposition, and proponents are confident any constitutional amendment would be approved by voters this fall.
Such laws have also come under fire in other states around the country, where some have argued they are unconstitutional and violate a citizens’ right to vote. The U.S. Justice Department has also vowed to monitor Voter ID pushes around the country vigilantly as a number of states with new Republican majorities have pursued Voter ID laws following the 2010 elections
Another potentially controversial proposal that has drawn criticism around the country has been introduced by four Republican senators, Sens. Sean Nienow, Dan Hall, Rod Chamberlain, Gretchen Hoffman and Al DeKruif. That bill, SF 1535, would require drug testing for anyone receiving cash assistance from state public aid programs. Opponents have called those measures discriminatory and some courts have questioned whether the requirement is even constitutional.
Holder and his DOJ Fifth Amendment Boys are already writing up their “lawsuit”.
This was decided in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 553 U.S. 181 (2008)
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I've been beating my congress critters over the head with emails, phone calls, letters and personal visits and while they both claim to be for it {and I believe them} the bill passed the house but is stuck in the senate.
If you live in PA, have relatives in PA, ever drove through PA or ever looked at a map of the USA and saw PA on the map, send an email to any PA senator and hit them in the head {not literally}.
We need this simple bill to pass.
I hate all politicians, even ours.
The Minnesota Supreme Court has a long history of decisions which find "greater" protections in the Minnesota Constitution than the U.S. Constitution.
It's not right, all states should be subject to the same rules.
They’re also going to put a right-to-work law on the ballot. This could be a very productive year for Minnesota conservatives.
I didn’t know about the RTW amendment. Thanks for telling me.
Nor, did I, but we sure need it! Good luck to all Minnesotans on these important issues.
Thank you to Reps and Senators for your help on both of these!
Good - and more than about time. I nagged Mary Kiffmeyer nearly to death back when she was SOS - you could see the look of ‘Oh no - not him!’ in her eyes whenever I showed up (ha-ha-ha). Anyway, the pubbies have finally yanked their collectivist heads out of their collectivist manure piles and gotten around to doing something about the endless RAT Punch and Judy show that is called voting in this incredibly stupid state.
I still think that is how chicken-$$$$ dayton got in, but too late for that one.
Good luck MN, I will be watching. But I will admit, I love the freedom of Wyoming, so I probably will never move back.
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