In Focus This Week
I. In Focus This Week
Ballot language latest arena for state voter ID disputes
By Doug Chapin
The fight over photo ID requirements for voters is once again finding its way into courts – but this time the issue isn’t about the merits of ID but rather about ballot language putting the question to voters.
In Minnesota, voter ID is supposed to be on the November 2012 ballot. After DFL Governor Mark Dayton vetoed ID legislation in 2011, GOP majorities in the Legislature agreed earlier this year to put the question to voters – action that does not require the Governor’s approval. Given that public opinion polls suggest that voters favor ID, supporters are hopeful that voters can provide the energy to push ID past the opposition of the Governor and DFL legislators.
As it has in virtually every state, the dispute has sharply – and fiercely – divided the state’s political establishment. Groups across the spectrum have lined up to support and oppose the amendment.
There is a chance, however, that voters may not get the chance to have their say. The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments about whether or not the ballot language describing the amendment is sufficient. As the language currently stands, voters will be asked if the state constitution should be amended “to require all voters to present valid photo identification to vote and to require the state to provide free identification to eligible voters”.
Opponents believe that the impact of voter ID is much broader. As Rachel Stassen-Berger of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote recently,
[Voter ID] could, they say, end the state’s same-day registration, limit absentee voting and require the state to adopt provisional voting. It could also cost the state $40 million to provide free, state-issued identification to voters in need and millions each year after that, they say. Voters will be presented with none of those details on their Election Day ballots. In other states, groups have argued that the true intent of photo ID requirements is voter suppression among minorities, the elderly and college students.
ID supporters dispute these contentions, saying that their goal is simply to ensure the integrity of the state’s electoral process and noting that the ballot language accurately captures the essence of the proposal, which is to require photo ID at the polls.
The Minnesota dispute is reminiscent of the recent experience in Missouri, where in late May a county judge blocked a photo ID amendment because the ballot summary was “insufficient and unfair.” Specifically, the judge found that the summary’s reference to a “Voter Protection Act” was improper given that such language was not included in the original legislation establishing the amendment. In addition, the judge found that language in the summary suggesting that the state could establish a time period for early voting was misleading since the underlying amendment would actually limit the time for such voting.
Minnesota and Missouri are also similar in that the Secretaries of State in both states are Democrats who firmly oppose voter ID. Missouri Secretary Robin Carnahan (who is not seeking re-election) praised the ruling in her state as “a victory for voters’ rights … The Missouri Constitution protects the fundamental right of eligible voters to have their voices heard. It defies common sense to weaken those rights.”
Minnesota’s Secretary Mark Ritchie has also come under criticism from ID supporters in Minnesota, who believe that his vocal public opposition to ID conflicts with his duty to manage the state’s elections in a nonpartisan manner. That opposition is less of an issue in the ballot language dispute, where the state Attorney General’s office will represent the state before the high court. Supporters of ID like Minnesota Majority have until July 2 to intervene – which they’re likely to do to ensure that their views on the issue are heard.
The hearing has been scheduled for July 17. As part of the court’s order, the State has been asked to give the court a deadline for a decision “in order to modify the ballot, if necessary” before Election Day in November.
Election News This Week
II. Election News This Week
- As if Florida voters weren’t already facing enough, now someone is targeting registered voters by calling them and telling them that they need to re-register to vote. The caller says they can re-register over the phone by providing their full name and social security number. Needless to say, the Palm Beach County elections office is working to get the word out about this fraudulent practice.
- The Korean War surplus bags, used by the Mahoning County board of elections since 1954 to transport election supplies to voting precincts, finally are being retired. The board voted earlier this week to spend $22,500 for 275 bags from A. Rifkin Co., based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. That’s one bag for every voting precinct in the county.
- A package of election reform bills was recently introduced in New York that would make it easier residents in the Empire State to register to vote. Included in the package is legislation allowing 16- and 17-year olds to preregister, online voter registration and expand voter registration at government agencies.
- Personnel News: Barbara A. Jones, the former Anchorage ombudsman has been appointed the Anchorage municipal clerk effective July 1. Wendy T. Harvey has been nominated for the position of Republican registrar of voters in Kent, Conn. Saying that he “just can’t walk away,” Bay County, Fla. Supervisor of Elections Mark Anderson has decided to seek another term in office after originally saying he would not run for re-election. Kathleen Drew was nominated to represent the Democratic side of the ticket in the race to replace Sam Reed as Washington’s secretary of state in November.
Opinions
III. Opinions
National News: Voter ID, II, III, IV, V; Voter suppression, II; Attorney General, II; Voter fraud; Voting rights; Electoral College; Kris Kobach
California: Orange County
Connecticut: Vote fraud; Registrar race
District of Columbia: Top-two primary
Florida: Voting rights, II; Voter purge, II, III, IV, V, VI; Secretary of state; Election reform law
Massachusetts: Election reform
Missouri: Voting machines
Montana: Early voting
New Hampshire: Voter ID; II; Vote fraud
New York: Election reform; Bilingual ballots
Ohio: Mahoning County
Tennessee: Voter rolls
Texas: Primary turnout; Voter purge
Virginia: Voter registration
Washington: Sam Reed
West Virginia: Voter fraud
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Job Openings
IV. Job Openings
electionlineWeekly publishes election administration job postings each week as a free service to our readers. To have your job listed in the newsletter, please send a copy of the job description, including a web link to mmoretti@electionline.org. Job postings must be received by 5pm on Wednesday in order to appear in the Thursday newsletter. Listings will run for three weeks or till the deadline listed in the posting.
Statistician, U.S. Dept. of Justice — primary responsibility of the statistician is to provide technical guidance and statistical analyses used by the Voting Section to determine whether states and local jurisdictions are in compliance with the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws the Section enforces. Qualifications: degree that included 15 semester hours in statistic and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences. Combination of education and experience: courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should have included a full range of professional statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance. Application: Please submit your application via fax at 202-514-6603 or by email to crd.vacancies@usdoj.gov. Deadline: June 29, 2012. For more information and the complete listing, please click here or here (two openings).