Ask the expert: Voter ID

A discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to require photo identification to case a vote in Minnesota

by Michael Olson, MPR News 10/22/2012 5:04:38 PM

by Michael Olson, MPR News 10/19/2012 10:48:25 PM
On Monday Oct 22nd at noon MPR News is hosting an online chat discussing the proposed constitutional amendment that would require photo identification to cast a ballot in Minnesota.

Guest:
Doug Chapin, Project for Excellence in Election Administration, Humphrey School
Election law and administration, election legislation, the relationship between the election system and political campaigns, and the use of new technology to modernize elections.

by Michael Olson, MPR News 10/19/2012 10:54:44 PM
Looking forward to today's discussion - here's a link to voter ID laws nationally that we may end up citing during today's event: www.ncsl.org

by Doug Chapin 10/22/2012 4:48:13 PM
What do you want to know about Voter ID? Your questions will be posed here during Monday's chat at noon.

by Michael Olson, MPR News 10/22/2012 4:57:27 PM
Does the word "valid" in amendment language constitute a requirement of having a current address on ID? Heard conflicting information on this

by Andrew 10/22/2012 5:08:51 PM
Will a current address be necessary on the ID?

by Linnea 10/22/2012 5:10:06 PM
How would military voters overseas or stationed on out of state bases be impacted?

by RalphW 10/22/2012 5:11:21 PM
If an ID is needed for voting, why not simply require a national ID?

by Linnea 10/22/2012 5:12:19 PM
Are there states where provisional ballots work OK? I've heard of some disasters, what's the 'typical' experience, if there is one? Wouldn't all MN elections have to wait for provisional ballots to be counted to announce winners?

by RalphW 10/22/2012 5:16:14 PM
Concerned about college students in particular. Most still have parents' address on ID still or move at least once a year. Can you speak to students' experiences in other voter ID states?

by Andrew 10/22/2012 5:17:16 PM
I do hope there will be some discussion of provisional balloting. I know a lot of details have to be worked out, but this is - in my opinion - will be a big mess. Can we have any confdence it will work and not cause a lot of discarded ballots?

by RalphW 10/22/2012 5:22:22 PM
There's a pretty solid study about fraud from the 2008 race. www.muusja.org

by RalphW 10/22/2012 5:29:44 PM
Link to the study which found that of 2.9 million ballots cast in the 2008 statewide election, only nine ten-thousandths of one percent (0.0009%) of votes cast led to convictions for fraudhttp://www.muusja.org/voting

by RalphW 10/22/2012 5:31:05 PM
Anyone interested in more coverage (with a definite election geek slant) should check out my blog at blog.lib.umn.edu

by Doug Chapin 10/22/2012 5:32:48 PM
What was your takeaway from the discussion?

by Michael Olson, MPR News 10/22/2012 5:34:03 PM
In Rumsfeld-speak: There are a lot of known unknowns. There are a lot of aspects that have yet to be resolved, or would have to be resolved by state lawmakers should the amendment pass.

by Michael Olson, MPR News 10/22/2012 5:35:17 PM
Here's everything MPR News has reported about the proposed amendment on photo ID.

by Michael Olson, MPR News 10/22/2012 5:39:24 PM
You are also invited to join our ongoing debate over the proposed amendment: here.

by Michael Olson, MPR News 10/22/2012 5:40:22 PM
Tim Pugmire's piece on MPR is excellent as is this recent piece from the Alexandria Echo-Press - www.echopress.com

by Doug Chapin 10/22/2012 5:45:22 PM

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