Send It Back: Steele County Auditor questions local costs for voter restriction amendment

While preparing Send it back op-ed & letters opposing voter restriction flood Greater MN newspapers, Bluestem missed a news article in the Owatonna People's Press. Staff writer Derek Sullivan reports in Steele County may have big bill if Voter ID amendment is passed:

Steele County auditor Laura Ihrke said the proposed Voted ID amendment could cost the county close to $100,000.

On Nov. 6, voters will decide if a Voter ID amendment will be added to the Minnesota Constitution. The ballot question reads: Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require all voters to present valid photo identification to vote and require the state to provide free identification to eligible voters, effective July 1, 2013.

The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office estimates that the state has 215,389 eligible voters without state issued or invalid IDs, which includes 2,386 voters in Steele County.

While voters know what will be on the ballot and how many people will need to get IDs if the amendment is passed, Ihrke said there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered by the state Legislature.

“If it passes, a lot of what will happen is unknown,” Ihrke said. “A lot of things still haven’t been worked out, it all depends on what the Legislature decides.

“We don’t know who is going to pay for the additional poll books. Is it going to be the responsibility of the county? Is the money going to come from somewhere else? That still has not been determined.” . . .

Read more of the details at the OPP.

Article after article, letter after letter, editorial after editorial, it's becoming clear that amending the constitution isn't the place to settle this question. Indeed, if the bill passes, it puts enormous pressure on the state legislature to spend unit train loads of money on a misplaced "fix" for imaginary voter fraud, while not solving the issue of felon voting. That's millions that could go to schools, roads, veterans and other real needs.

And much of the cost is likely to be passed on to local government, already strapped for cash to plow snow, police streets, and other basic needs.

Please vote no on this stinker. To learn about opportunities talk to your neighbors and friends about why they should vote no on voter restriction, visit Our Vote, Our Future. To learn more about the consequences of the amendment for Greater Minnesota, check out Greater MN Counts. Like the Facebook page Minnesotans Vote No Twice.

Photo: Author of the House version of the amendment, Mary Kiffmeer conducts a War on Voters.

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