Various groups and political leaders are clashing over the proposed legislation requiring voters to present a photo ID at the polls. In a recent development, a banner caused outrage among some local groups, who claim that it is an offensive image aimed at perpetuating racist and baseless fears among Minnesotans.
The banner appeared on WeWantVoterID.com, a site created and maintained for the most part by the Minnesota Majority, a conservative group which promotes the proposed photo ID requirement.
Yesterday, TakeAction Minnesota, along with State Representative Rena Moran, held a press conference in response, condemning the image and speaking out against the legislation. Among the legislation’s critics was Nick Muhammad, a community organizer with Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, who had this to say: “we’ve paid a dear price to get the right to vote and I don’t see any excuse for any organization to blatantly target people who have fought so hard to exercise their fundamental right to vote.”
This recent scandal has not taken out a real concern many still have about voter fraud. The requirement to present an ID at the polls is nothing new on a national scale. After the United States Supreme Court addressed voter identification requirements in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, finding it constitutional for states to impose such a requirement, some states deemed it appropriate. Today, 15 states already require a photo ID, with additional 16 states requiring some form of identification.
Although there is a lack of evidence to support a theory that Minnesota has voter fraud on a significant level, the concern is widespread. After all, there is no way to tell how much fraud has been missed in the past, and a big majority of Minnesotans are speaking out in support of the legislation. According to a new Star Tribune poll, eighty percent of respondents in Minnesota said they favor a photo ID requirement.
The opposing side of this issue argues that this new legislation would bar access to voting for many groups, most of them already underrepresented. The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office estimates the proposal would be a problem for 215,000 current voters, "...primarily the elderly, disabled, students and military personnel," That's roughly 7 percent of the nearly 3.1 million registered voters in Minnesota.
Throughout this heated debate, one thing is certain: the question of whether we will soon be required to present a photo ID at the polls is rapidly moving to the forefront of Minnesota’s legislative issues this year.
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