GOP offers major overhaul to Minnesota’s voting system

Note to Rep. Winkler: Actually the bill DOES address ineligible voters like convicted felons. a big advantage of electronic pollbook (aside from significant cost SAVINGS to the counties and greater voter convenience) is that it uses computer databases to instantly verify identity and eligibility by cross-checking lists of felons, non-citizens present on visas, etc. It’s a good idea to read a bill and understand how it fits into existing election law before commenting on it.

The bill’s author spent 8 years as the state’s chief election official. She designed and implemented the computerized statewide voter registration system and ushered in optical ballot scanners. I think Mary Kiffmeyer might know a bit more about the subject than a software lawyer like WInkler.

“Limmer added that they are proposing the changes because Minnesotans increasingly don’t trust the voting system.”

Let’s be honest here, it has nothing to do with that. It’s all about the GOP getting all bent out of shape when they don’t win an election. That’s what this is really about now isn’t it?

It’s about voter suppression. Dress it up however you will, but our current system is designed to make it as easy as possible for people to vote. Right wing claims to the contrary there’s little or no evidence of fraud in the current system.

By addressing a problem that doesn’t exist Republicans seek to lower voter turnout which – pretty consistently – leads to Republican victories.

Optical scanners have been in MN longer than Ms Kiffmeyer’s tenure as the only Secretary of State to spend more time and money discouraging voters than encouraging them.

Facts matter in grownup land. The problems cited by her are not substantiated when one actually looks at the data. Not the hype, not the propaganda, the data. This is nothing but an excuse to keep people they don’t like from voting.

This bill will disenfranchise eligible voters, and have a minimal effect on the problems it claims to solve. Precisely as designed.

There are things that can be done to improve and tighten MN election law (reviewing what forms of ID are acceptable to prove residency, for instance). Eliminating help for sick voters and those who move right before an election is wrong.

“The real reason the Republicans are pushing a photo ID bill is because they think that’s the best and most effective way to block voters from the polls that they think are going to vote for Democrats,” he said.

I’d have to agree. History shows that felons, illegal aliens, dead people, non-resident college kids and people in a coma tend to vote democrat.

Thank God some one is stepping up to keep Democrats from voting. We will only have reform when only Republicans vote. Lets bring back the poll tax and make people take a test before they can vote and have the polls open from 11AM to 1PM. That ought to keep those damn Democrats home.

I concur. If we had a literacy test the democrats would never win another election.

Ignoring the name calling, I have a question. Does anybody have facts that a pattern of abuse or fraudulent voting exists? The only cases I’ve been able to find are felons, usually out on parole.

Dennis, I found your video about how only good christians should be allowed to vote (I wish this was a parody).

http://wonkette.com/436272/man-with-pencil-christians-should-give-up-on-democracy-support-dictatorship#more-436272

“…Ms Kiffmeyer’s tenure as the only Secretary of State to spend more time and money discouraging voters than encouraging them”

This pretty much sums up her career. She was the anti-Joan Growe.

Though the ID might be free, what documents will be required, and do those come with a cost? If yes, then there is still a cost to get the ID, and that amounts to a poll tax, which the US Constitution expressly prohibits.

Though make the documents free, make everybody get a voting ID, make it count as voter registration, and make registrations follow voters when they move instead of having them registered at multiple addresses, and I’m open to the idea.

Charles,
In Hennepin County, they know exactly how many people voted out of precinct for every election. As those reports go to the county attorney.

The type of voter fraud that has the Republicans panties in a bunch is some voting by signing in as someone else. It’s only happened a couple times in all of Minnesota.

Republicans keep forgetting that people have to show a photo ID to register to vote. Whether they do it same day, at the county when changing addresses or elsewhere, a photo id is used.

And Dennis, keep in mind it was the Republicans who stole both presidental elections for George Bush.

Polls show a vast majority of voters agree with the photo ID requirement so it’s amusing to see the democrats dig in their heels over this, giving credence to the suspicion that they do need bogus votes to win.

Dan,
Kiffmeyer might not be the best witness for a democratic process. She was one of the original leaders, I believe Chief Operating Officer, of the white supremacist group Minnesota Majority. Recall that she extolled the virtues of racial purity that she misinterpreted from a Swedish study on infant mortality.

The first step in establishing a dictatorship: Make it harder for people to vote who might vote for the opposition.

The first step in restoring democracy: Make voting as open and transparent as possible.

If the jackboot fits, Dennis…

The democratization of publishing, i.e. blogs and comments sections, does not, in fact, have the corollary: because my thoughts appear on a website, they matter.

It’s all just trotting out the same old canned arguments and responses. Good to know people aren’t manipulated by Fox and MSNBC. Dennis hates democrats, democrats hate Dennis. Bo-ring! Get off the comments sections and get on with it!

Nothing like creating a totally bogus issue, spreading lies about a nonexistent problem and then sponsoring a bill to address the bogs issue you’ve created to demonstrate real “leadership.” Of course, it would hardly do for said “leaders” to acknowledge that their election by a broken system of campaign finance which perpetuates these bogus problems and lies as real issues is at the root of the real problem. Stupidity is as stupidity does.

Hmm.. Republicans HATE “Card Check” when it comes to hiring cheap illegal Mexican Labor ( we gotta have them slaves) .. BUT …. We gotta have “Card Check” when it comes to the Civic Duty of VOTING??? This looks a lot like a WASTEFUL GOVERNMENT EXPANSION to me..

Here’s this morning’s Strib poll – not exactly a bastian of right-wing punditry:

Instant Poll: Should a photo ID be required to vote?

# of votes % of votes
Yes 905 77.2 %
No 266 22.7 %

Total Votes 1171

“Editor’s note: Instant polls are intended as entertainment. They are not considered to be true measurements of public opinion.”

Also, the poll has nothing to do with this specific legislation, so — in addition to the total lack of credibility as a scientific measure of opinion — it’s pretty irrelevant to the topic at hand.

All things considered, I can live with an ID requirement. IF it really is free and available to those who can’t afford one. But it has to be statewide, not just in cities Kiffmeyer objects to.

However, vouching and voter assistance are important ways to identify people,and there’s no point in removing them.

What I’d really like? To see a copy of the bill. Either she hasn’t filed it yet or the Clerk’s office is behind.

Wouldn’t it be easier to raise the punishment for “wrong” voting… say to the Death Penalty? I suppose we could even get the Death Penalty option for any democratic voter to make Dennis happy.

Lets not spend $20 million we don’t hvae to stop some 20 or 30 people from voting “illegally.” Where are the real numbers that prove this boondoggle won’t cost a $1 million per “wrong” voter?

This is waistful Why dont we combine this votin bill with an immigration bill like arizona has? Then ya only haf to proove ya can vote if ya is darker skinned. We can haf one ID that says “i look like a beaner but I am not illegal and I kin vote”. Another one that says “I look like a convicted drug deeler becuz I am black but I am not and I kin vote”.

This will stop the illegal aleens and the illegal votin plus make white peeple stop goin to those tanning places and gettin skin cancer.

Republicans, stop thinkin small. Why fix one problem wen ya can fix em all at one time?

Course the only way to stop dark skinned peeple from cheatin is to have pade Republican police at every votin location to make shure. Mark my words, after this ID law gets past the Republicans will still say the cheeters are cheetin. We need Republican police at every votin place. Put that in the bill.

God Bless America!!

The costs of this bill would be much more than $20 million. There has to be multiple scanners, computers, and printers at every precinct, there has to be multiple broadband connections to the multiple computers at every precinct to the central database, every person would need a new bar coded ID in order to scan it, and what happens if the central computer crashes?

When a legislator has to use a completely false story as the basis for the bill then the bill is not credible.

And Kiffmeyer designed and implemented the voter registration system? The same system that the conservatives say is riddled with problems? What a hoot!

It is hilarious, when conservative Dan trumpets Kiffmeyer’s 8 years of government service, and derides someone else lifetime of private market experience. I’m sure next time we see Dan he will be telling us how government and it’s workers are completely incompetent and the private marketeers are the God’s.

I have a disability. Because of this, I have limited income. The limited income has forced me to not only have to move frequently (often because of things like landlords getting foreclosed on), but also not to be able to afford to keep my ID updated every time I moved (on the average of once every seven months). I finally got to move into public housing. Because I live in public housing, I do not receive utility bills. And because I could not afford to keep up my Verizon bill, I use a pay-as-you-go phone and thus do not have a phone bill. Put that all together, and it means that I would not have been able to vote had it not been for my neighbour vouching for me.

I’m sure there are many variations of my story, or of stories that touch on other points in the proposed election overhaul. It seems that the consequences of this overhaul will in part cause those who are already somewhat disenfranchised to be cut out of the electoral process and have even less power than they already have.

I hope our leaders realise that the power of democracy does not come from cutting people out of the democratic process.

Peace.

“I hope our leaders realise that the power of democracy does not come from cutting people out of the democratic process.”

Whittier, the leaders that are proposing this aren’t interested in the “power of democracy”, they are interested in the power of the GOP. In order for that power to be realized they cut the people they think vote primarily for Democrats out of the democratic process.

If you can’t win an election any other way, change the rules.

The IRs can’t admit that they screwed up by running Norm Coleman and then trying to foist “Tommy Boy” on Minnesota. Even when a series of Court proceedings finds their claims about voter fraud to be a bunch of crap, they come back with this slimy proposal.