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State Representative Ryan Winkler
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7026
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
Press/News Releases
REP. WINKLER: PHOTO I.D. LEGISLATION AN ATTACK ON ELECTIONS SYSTEM
ST. PAUL, MN – A bill (HF89) introduced today by freshman Republican legislator Mike Benson (R – Rochester) would require all Minnesotans to present photo identification before voting. State Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL – Golden Valley) had this to say regarding the legislation.
Before offering any solution to the $6.2 billion shortfall, Republicans are instead focused on denying some Minnesotans the right to vote. Tea Party conservatives in the legislature continued their assault on the state’s elections system today by introducing costly legislation that will only make the deficit worse.
Minnesota citizens have a right to vote. Passing this legislation would then require all Minnesotans have the right to a free photo I.D. – which would cost the state millions of dollars and create a whole new layer of state bureaucracy.
All we heard from Republicans on the campaign trail was rhetoric about cutting government spending and eliminating bureaucracy. But all they have delivered in their first week in power is hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending on corporate tax giveaways and a new expansion of state government.
A photo I.D. requirement is not only costly; it makes voting more difficult for senior citizens, students, and rural Minnesotans. Right now a quarter of Minnesota seniors have no photo I.D., voters in rural Minnesota have to drive great distances to get one, and students’ drivers licenses are for addresses at their parents’ residences.
This legislation is nothing more than a partisan attempt to prevent voters thought to favor DFLers from ever reaching the polls – and it does nothing to address the real challenges in our elections system.
Ryan Winkler
State Representative
District 44B
News Items
- House passes minimum wage increase to raise wages of over 350,000 Minnesotans - (Posted: May 3 2013 4:30PM)
- Select Committee on Living Wage Jobs reviews 30 years of Pay Equity Act and current gender, income and work issues in Minnesota - (Posted: Apr 16 2013 1:56PM)
- Select Committee on Living Wage Jobs to review 30 years of Pay Equity Act and address current gender, income and work issues - (Posted: Apr 15 2013 11:40AM)
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