Eagan Legislators Talk Voter ID Law at Town Hall Meeting

Discussion of the voter ID amendment and of state tax policies dominated the conversation at a town hall meeting with Republican lawmakers—Sen. Ted Daley and Representatives Diane Anderson and Doug Wardlow. 

 “It’s absolutely essential that every vote be valid,” said Wardlow, when questioned about the amendment’s potential to cause disenfranchisement during the Thursday meeting at Wescott Library in Eagan.

Wardlow’s sentiments were met with applause.

The voter ID amendment will appear on ballots in November. Should the amendment pass, voters will be required to show a photo ID in order to vote at all Minnesota polling places.

“This is not going to disenfranchise anyone,” said Rep. Anderson. “We do have voter fraud in this state.”

Opponents in the DFL strongly disagree. Less than a week after the , Gov. Mark Dayton symbolically vetoed it.

The passage of the measure puts voters in charge of deciding whether to . However, constitutional amendments do not need the governor's signature.

Dayton acknowledged his action won't stop the amendment from appearing on the general election ballot this November. However, he called it a "proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing" in a letter to Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove). The amendment "goes far beyond its stated intention to require Photo IDs. Instead, it dismantles Minnesota's Best-in-the-Nation election system" by ending same-day voter registration and requiring new system of provisional ballots, Dayton wrote, adding that it "would severely restrict absentee voting, mail-in voting, and balloting for members of our Armed Forces and others overseas."

Dayton's Democrat cohorts in the legislature have long been opposed to the Republican-backed amendment.  has repeatedly stated that he felt Republicans were spending too much time on amendments, rather than tackling . 

Republican legislators originally submitted a bill requiring voters to present photo IDs during last year's legislative session, but the bill was ultimately vetoed by Dayton.

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