Voter photo ID bill fails in House committee

An attempt to require the use of photo IDs to vote in Minnesota went down to defeat in a House committee at the State Capitol

The bill's author, Republican Tom Emmer of Delano, argued it would make it harder for ineligible voters such as noncitizens and ex-felons on probation to cast ballots in person on Election Day.

Those who show up at the polls without a driver's license or some other form of ID would be allowed to cast provisional ballots, in the Emmer bill, which would be nullified if the voter doesn't return within four days to prove their identity.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie opposes Emmer's bill, saying that thousands of aging voters who no longer have valid driver's licenses, would likely be tripped up or disqualified by the rule. Voters must present photo ID and other proof of residency within a precinct in order to register to vote.

Reprentative Emmer asserts that, as a practical matter, most Minnesotans already assume you've got to show ID when you vote. They arrive at polling places, he contends, and pull out their driver's licenses.

Elections expert David Schultz, of Hamline University's Graduate School of Management, told the Government Operations Committee that the extra hoop is essentially unwarranted considering the scarcity of evidence that voter fraud occurs in Minnesota on a regular basis.

Schultz, who is also a lawyer who lectures at the U of M School of Law, went over results of scholarly research and articles he's published on the subject of voter fraud and photo ID laws.

In a particularly testy exchange with State Representative Steve Gottwalt, Schultz said there's virtually no history of prosecution for voter fraud in the state. Even reports of voter fraud, as a percentage of all votes, are negliAn attempt to require the use of photo IDs to vote in Minnesota went down to defeat in a House committee at the State Capitol

The bill's author, Republican State Representative Tom Emmer of Delano, argued it would make it harder for ineligible voters such as noncitizens and ex-felons on probation to cast ballots in person on Election Day.

Those who show up at the polls without a driver's license or some other form of ID would be allowed to cast provisional ballots, in the Emmer bill, which would be nullified if the voter doesn't return within four days to prove their identity.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie opposes Emmer's bill, saying that thousands of aging voters who no longer have valid drivers licenses, would likely be tripped up or disqualified by the rule. Voters must present photo ID and other proof of residency within a precinct in order to register to vote.

Emmer asserts that, as a practical matter, most Minnesotans already assume you've got to show ID when you vote. They arrive at polling places, he contends, and pull out their drivers licenses.

Elections expert David Schultz, of Hamline University's Graduate School of Management, told the Government Operations Committee that the extra hoop is essentially unwarranted considering the scarcity of evidence that voter fraud occurs in Minnesota.

Schultz, who is also a lawyer who lectures at the U of M school of law, went over results of scholarly research and articles he's published on the subject of voter fraud and photo ID laws.

In a particularly testy exchange with State Representative Steve Gottwalt, Schultz said there's virtually no history of prosecution for voter fraud in the state. Even reports of voter fraud, as a percentage of all votes, are neglible.

"You take 25 fraudulent votes out of 2.8 million ballots cast, which yields a 0.0009 rate of fraud, "Schultz quipped," I'm acknowledging as a good scholar and saying that fraud exists; what I'm telling you is it's statistically insignificant."

Rep Gottwalt disputed the value of the research done by Schultz and others, arguing that fraud cases aren't exposed because they're not truly investigated. He cited the ongoing recount in Minnesota's disputed United States Senate race.

"Twenty-five precincts in this state recorded more votes than voters in that precinct and we're going to hear more and more of this today," Gottwalt told Schultz, "And it does go to integrity, so you can pile up all the studies and statistics you want but there is concern about the security of the voter process."

With the defeat in committee Emmer's bill is unlikely to pass this session, unless the language is incorporated into a larger "omnibus" election reform bill in the closing days.

By John Croman, KARE 11 News

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