Political Notebook

Carlson and Penny to speak out against Voter ID in Rochester

Former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson and former congressman and Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tim Penny are both planning to visit Rochester this month to speak out against the proposed Voter ID constitutional amendment.

Carlson plans to talk about his opposition to the amendment at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Century High School, 2525 Viola Road N.E. in Rochester. Penny, president and CEO of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, will speak at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at the Rochester Senior Center, 121 N. Broadway.

Both events are free and open to the public. They are sponsored by the League of Women Voters, AARP, the Rochester Senior Center, AAUW and Our Vote, Our Future.

Groups challenge Voter ID ballot question in court

A coalition of groups opposed to the proposed Voter ID constitutional amendment are asking the Minnesota Supreme Court to remove the question from the Nov. 6 ballot.

The groups, led by the ACLU, filed a lawsuit today alleging the ballot question is misleading. They argue that the ballot question fails to make clear that voters will have to show a valid government-issued photo ID and that it would set up a new provisional balloting system.

"When Minnesota voters are being asked to change their system of voting, it is of paramount importance that the changes be fairly and accurately described in the ballot question. This ballot question fails to do so," the lawsuit states.

The ACLU has filed the lawsuit on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, Common Cause, Jewish Community Action Council and five citizens.

Supporters of the amendment responded by saying the lawsuit is no surprise. In a statement, Minnesota Majority President Jeff Davis said, "The opponents have been talking about a lawsuit from nearly the time that the Voter ID bill was introduced in the legislature. What are these folks so afraid of they feel they need to file a lawsuit trying to block Minnesotans from voting on this issue?"

Click here to read the lawsuit.

Anti-voter ID radio ads running in Rochester

Radio ads opposing a proposed constitutional amendment that would require voters to show photo identification in order to cast a ballot are running in Rochester.

The 60-second spot features Iraq War veteran Alex Erickson speaking out against the amendment. With patriotic music playing the background, Erickson says, "I proudly served our country in the United States Army, witnessing the courage of the Iraqi people as they exercised their right to vote. I realized then that the right to vote is what makes America the greatest democracy in the world. But here in Minnesota, our right to vote is under attack."

The ad blasts the proposal for not allowing military identification to qualify as one of the accepted forms of photo identification. It goes on to say that the amendment would change how absentee balloting and same-day registration is done in the state and that will end up hurting not only veterans but "seniors, students and countless others."

The ad urges people to call Sen. Dave Senjem and "ask him not to use our constitution to take away our right to vote."

The ads are sponsored by TakeAction Minnesota, a liberal advocacy group. The spots are running on talk radio station KROC-AM and country radio station KWWK-FM. To hear the ad, go here.

Area Republican lawmakers who have co-sponsored legislation that would put the photo ID amendment on the November ballot are Rep. Mike Benson of Rochester, Rep. Greg Davids of Preston, Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa and Rep. Duane Quam of Byron.

Fairgoers polled oppose same-sex marriage amendment

State fairgoers who weighed in on a Minnesota House of Representatives' poll overwhelmingly opposed a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Of the 12,549 people polled, 66.5 percent opposed the amendment, which would define marriage as between one man and one woman. Nearly 30 percent supported the amendment.

First, it's important to note that this poll is in no way scientific. But it is still interesting to see how people at the Great Minnesota Get-Together voted.

One item that might be of interest to Rochester city officials — the poll finds little support for allowing local governments to impose a tax without first getting legislative approval. Legislation passed during the special session will allow the city of Rochester to ask voters to approve a $139.5 million extension of the city's existing local option sales tax. But that approval did not come easily. Rochester had wanted authorization for a $160 million tax extension. Republicans in the GOP-led legislature — most notably House Tax Committee Chair Greg Davids — voiced opposition to a proposed sales tax extension that large. Supporters of the large amount argued it should be left up to local voters to decide whether to approve the higher tax amount — not state lawmakers.

According to the state fair poll, nearly 68 percent of respondents believe local governments should be required to get authorization from the legislature. Less than 26 percent believe they should be able to move ahead without getting lawmakers' OK.

Here are a couple of other interesting poll results:

— Fairgoers are not fans of extending the sales tax to clothing. Of those polled, more than 62 percent oppose the idea with nearly 31 percent supporting it. Nearly 7 percent were undecided.

— Support for requiring voters to show photo ID to cast a ballot has dropped. Of those polled, 50.8 percent believe showing ID should be a requirement to vote while 46.4 percent do not. In 2010, more than 69 percent of voters supported requiring photo ID to vote.

— Minnesotans polled also support banning the use of cellular phones while driving — except in the case of emergencies. More than 62 percent support a ban while more than 32 percent oppose it. Roughly 5 percent were undecided.

Go here to see all the poll results.

GOP to move ahead with voter ID constitutional amendment

At a press conference this afternoon, Republican lawmakers said they will push to get a proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2012 ballot. That amendment would require voters to show photo identification in order to cast a ballot.

Sen. Scott Newman of Hutchinson and Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer of Big Lake are sponsoring the amendment proposal. Joining them at the press conference to show his support was Rep. Steve Drazkowski of Mazeppa.

The move to put the issue before the voters comes after DFL Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a photo ID bill. Dayton said he would not sign an election bill unless it had broad bipartisan support. While the measure has the strong backing of Republican lawmakers, it is strongly opposed by Democrats.

Kiffmeyer, former Minnesota secretary of state, said it's time to put the issue before the people. She cited a recent Star Tribune poll that found 80 percent of respondents favor requiring photo ID to vote.

"If Gov. Dayton is going to stand in the way of 80 percent of the people, then we'll let the people speak directly through the constitution," she said.

Republicans argue that photo ID will discourage voter fraud and protect the integrity of Minnesota's election system. But Democrats argue that the new requirement would disenfranchise some voters who would find it very difficult to get a photo ID with a current address. That includes senior citizens, low-income residents, people with disabilities and women in battered women's shelters.

Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, blasted the proposal. He said the fact Republicans are pursuing this measure after recently approving putting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage on the 2012 ballot shows they are not focusing on solving the budget deficit and creating jobs.

"It wasn't enough to target one minority group. Now they want to go after the civil rights of others," he said.

Both Newman and Kiffmeyer said they have no intention of trying to get the measure passed during a special session this summer. Rather, they said they would plan to take it up when the legislature reconvenes in January. The goal would be to get it passed within the first couple of months.

 

Dayton vetoes voter ID bill

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton announced this afternoon he has vetoed a bill that would require voters to show photo identification in order to cast a ballot.

In his veto letter, he said the ID requirement would set up barriers to voting and lacked broad bipartisan support.

"The push to require photo identification in order to vote has been based on the premise that voter fraud is a significant problem in Minnesota. I do not believe that to be the case. In particular, the offense most often cited — felons voting illegally — will not be addressed by a photo identification requirement; felons often have a driver's license which has a photo but does not indicate their voting eligibility status," Dayton wrote.

He also says the bill would violate the Military Voter Empowerment Act, which requires absentee ballots be sent to military and overseas voters at least 45 days before each federal election. He said the measure would also impose a $23 million unfunded mandate on counties, cities, townships and boards."

Click here to Download Dayton's voter ID veto letter

Dayton also announced he is issuing an executive order creating a task force on election integrity. That group will be charged with studying and making recommendations on how to modernize the state's elections and prevent fraudulent and felon voting.

Legislative Republicans have been strong supporters of voter ID saying it is needed to prevent voting fraud and ensure the integrity of Minnesota's elections. Rochester GOP Rep. Mike Benson introduced his own photo ID bill and has said he believes his position on this issue is one of the reasons he defeated DFL Rep. Andy Welti, a voter ID opponent.

With the bill's veto, it's likely Republican lawmakers will move ahead with a proposed constitutional amendment to requiring voters to show photo ID. That would not need Dayton's approval and would be put before the voters in 2012.

Senate vote on Voter ID bill could come this week

GOP legislative leaders said during a press conference this morning in Rochester they are planning to move aggressively to get a bill passed that would require voters to show photo ID in order to vote.

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the bill tomorrow. Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said the Senate could take up the bill this week. A similar measure is also working its way through the House.

Legislative leaders said they were pleased to hear DFL Gov. Mark Dayton say he might be willing to consider signing a Voter ID bill. DFLers in the legislature have been strongly opposed to such a measure arguing it would create major burdens for some legal voters from casting their ballots. But Republicans say photo ID is needed to protect against voter fraud. Rep. Mike Benson, R-Rochester, is sponsoring a voter ID bill in the House.

Dayton has said in order to consider such a bill it would have to include a requirement for quarterly campaign finance reporting in order to improve disclosure about campaign spending. Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers said during the press conference that the GOP is willing to consider including that in order to make a deal. Koch said lawmakers plan to work closely with the governor and his staff on the bill.

"The question is will the governor sign it and we are going to be working very hard to get a signature on that," she said.

Tea Party Patriots not happy with League of Women Voters

The Rochester Tea Party Patriots are accusing the League of Women Voters of being a clearly partisan group in the wake of a recent local forum on the issue of voter ID.

Here is how the group sums up the forum in an e-mailed newsletter:

"Those who attended the meeting let us know that it was a put up job. The scenario was well rehearsed. The bottom line was: "Problem? What Problem?" They are circulating a petition that will give cover to the Democrat legislators so they can remain in denial. This petition is not "scientific" but just plain biased.

It is now clear that the League of Women Voters is a partisan group. Understand that if you attend any of their meetings."

This stems from a forum earlier this month sponsored by the league on the issue of whether or not voters should have to show photo ID in order to vote. Local GOP Rep. Mike Benson, R-Rochester, is sponsoring a bill that would require voter ID. Speakers featured at the event were from two organizations: the state League of Women Voters and Citizens for Election Integrity. Both of those organizations testified against Benson's voter ID bill during a House committee hearing citing concerns it could prevent legitimate voters from casting their ballots. But the measure has strong support among Republicans who argue it is needed to prevent voter fraud.

I have reached out to the Rochester league chapter to get a reaction to this. I will post the reaction when I get it.

Update: Here is the response to the Tea Party Patriots' criticism from Kathy Maegerlein, president of the League of Women Voters Rochester.

"Although the LWV is non-partisan, we do study issues and take positions on issues. Our basic position on voting at the national level is that "Voting is a fundamental citizen right that must be guaranteed", and, at the state level, 'Support improvements in election laws regulating election procedures, voting and school district elections.'

Our speakers presented the results of the report Facts About Ineligible Voting and Voter Fraud in Minnesota, which was done by the Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota, and the Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance, which was based on input from over 80 County Attorneys. We also had a good discussion following the presentation with both sides of the issue being heard."