Voter Suppression, Again, in Minnesota This Time

[n2doc]

By ANDREW ROSENTHAL
I never cease to be amazed–in a really bad way–at the lengths to which Republican lawmakers will go to cut down the number of people who get to vote (preferably, of course, people who might vote Democratic).

The Justice Department has been fighting discriminatory voter ID requirements and other ballot-blocking measures around the country, with some success. Some courts have been doing their job too by striking down some of these laws.

So the Minnesota Republicans who form that state’s Senate majority decided to take another route–amend the state’s constitution to make it harder for people to vote.

The Senate voted 35-29 today for a proposed amendment that would require all voters at the polls to show a photo ID, stiffen eligibility requirements for registration and limit acceptable ID forms to “government issued” ones. (That last measure makes it harder for students; their college ID would not be valid.)

http://loyalopposition.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/voter-suppression-again-in-minnesota-this-time/

[teddy51]

1. A Democratic Governor that's getting pushed around by the legislature, hmmm how many times have

we seen this happen in this country? We somehow have to over take these Repugs in all States.

[Mister Ed]

2. Thay can't push Gov. Dayton around on this one, so they're doing an end-run around him.

The reason Minnesota's GOP-dominated legislature is going the constitutional-amendment route is that it is not subject to veto by Governor Dayton. Instead, it goes straight to the ballot. If a majority of voters approve it next November, then voter suppression gets enshrined in the state constitution.

They're using the same tactic to try to amend the constitution to ensure only some people will have the right to marry.