The Minnesota House gave final approval Saturday to a bill requiring voters to present photo ID at the polls and sent the measure to Gov. Mark Dayton and an uncertain fate.
Passage came over the objections of DFLers, who said the legislation will hinder some groups from voting, and the 74-58 vote was almost entirely along party lines. Two DFLers who joined 72 Republicans in favor were the only ones to break ranks.
The bill, in addition to requiring photo identification, would eliminate the practice of letting people register to vote on Election Day by having others vouch for them. It also would create an entirely new system of provisional balloting.
For people who don't have valid IDs, the state would provide free voter identification cards if they can prove their citizenship and provide a "photographic identity document."
Dayton has not said explicitly that he will veto the bill but has said that any election law changes should have broad bipartisan support -- a condition also set by his predecessor, Republican Tim Pawlenty.
Dayton's stance may not matter in the end, however. Republicans already have teed up a bill that would put the issue on the election ballot in 2012 as a constitutional amendment -- bypassing the governor. Eighty percent of Minnesotans say they support photo ID requirements, according to a recent Star Tribune Minnesota Poll.
Republicans say the bill would improve the integrity of Minnesota's election system. They say that requiring photo ID for voting is common sense.
DFLers contend that the requirement for voters to have a photo ID with their current address in their precinct would hinder college students, minorities and seniors from voting. They also say fraud has not been a problem in the current system.
