Minnesota voters in November will be asked “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require all voters to present valid photo identification to vote and to require the state to provide free identification to eligible voters, effective July 1, 2013?”
But the real question that needs to be answered — if voters approve the amendment — is how will such a program work and be funded across the 87 counties in the state.
The devil is in the details, and at this point there is little information about the implementation of such a voter ID program.
Instead, voters will decide whether to proceed with the voter ID requirement in November, and if approved, the 2013 Legislature will develop an implementation plan.
Seems to us that’s putting the cart before the horse. How can voters make an informed decision without knowing how it may change their mail-in balloting process? Or knowing how much more Election Day will cost local taxpayers in Koochiching under a voter ID program?
An implementation plan will include creating a new system of “provisional” ballots for voters who lack a photo ID. Those voters would be allowed to cast a ballot, which would be counted after identity is verified. How will that work?
Despite a party-line vote to take the question to voters, some Democrat lawmakers believe some form of voter ID program would be valuable in Minnesota. But, they say, not without details of implementation that would have come from allowing the issue to move through the legislative process.
The need for a voter ID amendment is still unclear to us. Proponents pushed the amendment to give the process more credibility and avoid voter fraud. Minnesota has had little incident of voter fraud and the highest turnout in the nation.
Any change in our already successful voting system must balance security and integrity with ensuring the valuable voting rights of individuals, including the poor, seniors, students and members of the military.
