Minnesota Senate GOP renews push for voter photo ID

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Republicans who control the Minnesota Senate plan to renew a push for a photo ID requirement for voters in the legislative session that convenes next month.

Minnesota voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment in 2012 to require a photo ID to vote. But Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said in a video posted to Twitter that he did not think it was “clear in people’s minds what actually we were trying to do” nearly eight years ago.

Gazelka says “people want to know that the elections are secure.”

This time Republicans are calling for photo ID as a change in state law instead of as a constitutional amendment, the Star Tribune reported. But the proposal faces strong resistance from Democrats who contol the state House and the governor’s office.

Democratic Rep. John Lesch, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, responded to Gazelka’s message by recalling the 2012 election, when Democrats swept control of the Legislature and defeated another constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

“Are you going to outlaw same-sex marriage too? 2012 called. They want their issues back,” Lesch said.

The 2020 Legislature convenes on Feb. 11.