The Minnesota House and Senate approved putting the question of requiring photo ID to vote before the state’s voters back in April, in the form of a constitutional amendment. The yes or no question will appear on the November ballot.
Maybe.
Despite the fact that the legislature sent the amendment to a vote, and despite the fact that a huge 80% majority in Minnesota supports it, the League of Women Voters has joined with other left groups including Common Cause and the ACLU to block the amendment from appearing on the voters’ ballot this fall. These well-funded groups have filed a lawsuit to halt the measure.
Today, Minnesota Majority has filed a motion with the Minnesota Supreme Court, asking to intervene in the lawsuit.
According to Minnesota Majority president Jeff Davis, “The lawsuit has no legal merit, but because he’s demonstrated an obvious and very public bias against Voter ID, we don’t have faith that Secretary of State Mark Ritchie will diligently defend the amendment that was duly passed by the legislature. Therefore, we feel compelled to intervene. We will defend the right of the People of Minnesota to vote on this important measure.”
PJM’s Christian Adams is on Minnesota Majority’s legal team, and says “Nobody should fear the will of the people on this. Let the voters decide.” He adds that the League of Women Voters, Common Cause and the ACLU “seek to prevent citizens of Minnesota from deciding whether to integrate measures that protect election integrity into the Minnesota Constitution. They also seek to usurp the power and right of the Legislature to have the people of Minnesota decide whether to amend their Constitution.”
“The case brought by the League and Common Cause through the ACLU is misguided. They are attempting to use the Errors and Omissions statute to ask the Supreme Court to enjoin the secretary of state from fulfilling his legal obligation to put the Voter ID question before the voters,” Adams explained further. “There is no error or omission in this case. The question to go on the ballot is exactly what the legislature intended. If the secretary of state failed to put the question on the ballot, that would be an omission.”
Minnesota Majority’s motion is linked here.
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