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State Representative Tim Kelly
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8635
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS COLUMN
PHOTO ID VOTING BILL SUFFERS A SETBACK
With the battle to elect Minnesota’s next U.S. Senator now being decided by the courts, and with Al Franken holding a lead of roughly 250 votes, can there be any argument that every vote counts?
And with this race having been contested for four months now, are you confident that every vote in this race was legally cast?
I’m not.
We recently learned in a House committee that during the Norm Coleman/Al Franken recount, twenty five precincts in Minnesota had more ballots cast than voters registered.
How can you have more votes than voters?
For years we have heard that there are no problems with Minnesota’s election system. The facts surrounding our U.S. Senate race recount now prove otherwise. We can no longer assume that our elections are 100% accurate.
I co-authored legislation this year that would allow Minnesota voters to once again have confidence in our election process. Very simply, the “Voter Integrity Act of 2009” would have required the use of a photo identification to vote.
Most people arrive at the polling place expecting to be carded. They’re used to it if they buy alcohol or write a check.
For those few who do not have a driver’s license, a measure within the bill would have provided for the free distribution of IDs, and created a process for people without photo ID to cast provisional ballots.
The photo ID bill, which was modeled after an Indiana law that has been upheld by the courts, was recently debated in the House State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections committee. The committee heard from several Minnesota voters and election judges who witnessed ballots being cast under questionable circumstances during this past election.
Yet the bill failed on a mainly party-line vote.
I can’t understand why this bill is not already law. Some polls show that 80 percent of Minnesotans favor the legislation, yet the proposal can’t make it out of committee.
Photo ID would not only make it easier for election judges to ensure every vote is legally cast, but it would restore some form of integrity to the election process. This is something most people will likely be looking for once the courts finally determine who should be our next U.S. Senator.
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