Minnesota Republicans Try To Write Voter Disenfranchisement Into State Constitution

Because Gov. Mark Dayton’s (D-MN) veto power prevents the Republican-controlled Minnesota state legislature from enacting a Voter ID law through normal means, the state’s Republicans decided to bypass Dayton by passing the voter suppressing law as a state constitutional amendment. Fortunately, this effort can be thwarted by the voters as the amendment will need to be ratified in a referendum this fall. Voter ID laws are a high priority for many Republican state lawmakers because they disenfranchise many low-income, student and minority voters who tend to vote for Democrats.