St. Cloud Times urges Minnesotans to vote no twice; cites "epic failure" of voter restriction supporters to explain what's up with that

The St. Cloud Times editorial board joins a growing list of Greater Minnesota papers including the ECM New group, Mankato Free Press, Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Marshall Independent and McLeod County Chronicle is urging voters to reject the voter restriction amendment.

The Times's editorial  also joins the Star Tribune in asking voters to say no to the amendment to limit the freedom to marry.

In Our View: Vote 'no' on proposed amendments, the Times' editorial board writes:

There are many reasons to reject the proposed Voter ID amendment, but the most compelling rests in the epic failure by its authors to fully explain how it will be applied.

Make no mistake. In the two-plus years this issue made its way from a national special-interest group’s agenda to Minnesota ballots, partisan legislators had endless chances to provide those details.

That special interest group? Although the Times doesn't name it, Bluestem suspects the board means the American Legislative Exchange Council. Mary Kiffmeyer, author of the House version of the amendment, is the state co-chair of Minnesota's public delegation; as Minnesota Secretary of State, she fought to restrict voters' right to cast their ballots.

The editorial continues:

They did not, and now they want voters to trust them to draft rules that will ensure the right to vote is guaranteed. Sorry, but voters should not trust these legislators to do anything more than what serves the political special interests that created this issue.

And, no, that’s not to say Voter ID is a bad idea. It’s a credible idea — and one that should be implemented through laws involving electronic poll books, not a constitutional amendment rooted in partisan special interests.

In short: send it back.

A related news clip, KEYC-TV (CBS/FOX) in Mankato talked to two local lawmakers about the amendment. Note that Cornish asserts that the amendment is common sense, but Morrow illustrates what the problem is:

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.

Images: Vote No Twice (above); Mary Kiffmeyer conducts her War on Voters (below).

Comments

[Josh Lease]

Dear MN GOP: when you've lost the St. Cloud Times, you've LOST.