Minn. House passes voter ID bill

The Minnesota House has voted to place a Republican-backed voter ID constitutional amendment on the November ballot, pending similar passage in the Senate.

The House passed the final version of the bill early Wednesday morning on a 72 to 57, party-line vote.

If voters approve the ballot question, the state constitution will include a requirement that Minnesotans show a government-issued photo ID at the polls. But DFL Rep. Ryan Winkler of Golden Valley accused Republicans of trying to trick voters into getting rid of same-day registration and absentee voting.

"It seems to me what you're doing is trying to sell your amendment to the voters, mislead them into believing that this is just about saying who you are on Election Day, when in fact your bill is a Trojan Horse to do a lot of other things to disrupt and cause chaos in Minnesota's election system," Winkler said.

Supporters of the measure insist that the ID requirement will not prevent any eligible Minnesotan from voting. They say the public wants the change to ensure election integrity.

Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, said there are too many questions about potential voter fraud.

"I want everybody to vote who is legally able to vote," Gruenhagen said. "But I don't want anybody to vote who is not legally able to vote."

Democrats are predicting court challenges to the legislation.