CAN MINNESOTA LEARN FROM MISSOURI?
May 2006: Republican-controlled Missouri General Assembly passes photo ID law, signed by Republican Gov. Matt Blunt.
October 2006: Missouri Supreme Court declares law unconstitutional by 6-1 vote.
May-June 2011: Republican-controlled legislature passes a photo ID constitutional amendment, which requires approval by the voters. Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon vetoes a related law, but the ballot question -- which a governor cannot veto -- remains on the ballot.
July 2011: American Civil Liberties Union and the Advancement Project, a national voting rights group, files suit against the amendment. They claim that the language to be submitted to voters does not fairly describe the amendment.
March 2012: Circuit Court Judge Patricia Joyce rules that the ballot language is "insufficient and unfair" for many reasons. The judge suggests that the legislature, still in session, rewrite the ballot question.
May 2012: General Assembly adjourns without rewriting ballot question, so it is left off the ballot.
Summer-Fall 2012: Photo ID expected to be an important issue in race to replace retiring Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, a Democrat and photo ID opponent.
JIM RAGSDALE
