Poll after poll consistently demonstrates the overwhelming majority of Minnesotans want a photo ID requirement to vote. A bill that would have made that wish reality (
HF 57) got a shot at the big time today, but was ultimately defeated in the
House Government Operations Committee. By a vote of 11-8 the committee decided not to refer the bill to the Public Safety Committee, stopping it dead in it’s tracks. Every “no” vote was a Democrat, but not every “yes” vote was a Republican. Newcomer, Phil Sterner broke ranks with his party and voted to refer the bill to the next committee.
Chairman Pelowski (D-31A), Representatives Poppe (D-27B), Hilty (D-8A), Hornstein (D-60B), Kahn (D-59B), Kalin (D-17B), Marquart (D-9B), Morrow (D-23A), Nelson (D-46A), Simon (D-44A) and Winkler (D-44B) voted to kill photo ID.
Representatives Emmer (R-19B), Anderson (R-13A), Buesgens (R-35B), Gottwalt (R-15A), Kiffmeyer (R-16B), Lanning (R-9A), Sanders (R-51A) and Sterner (D-37B) voted to pass the bill out of committee.
Secretary of State Ritchie, who has recently proposed a wide array of new voting initiatives, including opening up in-person early voting for several days before the election testified that requiring ID would substantially increase the need for judges at the polls. He said the extra judges could cost up to $800,000 a year. Election judges who were present and testified contradicted Ritchie, saying Photo ID would actually streamline the process and wouldn’t require any extra judges. Ritchie’s own proposals do require extra judges, however, and at substantially higher cost than the pittance he suggests would be required to implement Photo ID. In today’s government, any price tag that isn’t measured in millions or billions of dollars may as well be pennies as far as legislators are concerned.
Former Secretary of State and current committee member, Representative Mary Kiffmeyer said that when she had Ritchie’s job, her office ran the numbers and determined that even in the face of budget cuts and unallotment, her office could absorb the negligible costs of issuing free IDs to the poor and managing any infrastructure changes into her existing budget.
Well-to-do, white, male DFL legislators argued that voter ID would disenfranchise minority groups. Maryland “Lucky” Rosenbloom, a respected leader in the black community refuted that notion in his testimony. He said current document requirements for identity verification are confusing, poorly understood and difficult for many to meet. He argued that everyone knowing that photo ID is the standard would simplify the process and eliminate confusion. He held up a utility bill addressed to “Lucky” Rosenbloom, noting “I can vote with my nickname using this utility bill, but this ID has my full legal name,” and “I'm gong to have my ID in my pocket, every day. I don't keep this utility bill in my pocket every day. It's very empowering to walk in and say, here's my ID. You can't turn me away now.”
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