Minnesota Amendment 2 (also called Voter ID Amendment) was a proposed
legislatively referred constitutional amendment
A legislative referral (or legislative referendum) is a referendum in which a legislature puts proposed legislation up for popular vote. This may either be voluntarily or, as is the case in many countries for a constitutional amendment, as a man ...
that was on the ballot on November 6, 2012. If approved, it would have required a form of photographic identification before being permitted to vote in Minnesota municipal, state, and federal elections. However, it was defeated with 53.84% voting against and 46.16% for the measure.
Legislative approval
The
Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...
approved the amendment for the ballot in April 2012 on essentially a
party-line vote. The amendment was promoted by Rep.
Mary Kiffmeyer
Mary Kiffmeyer (born December 29, 1946) is an American politician. She served as Minnesota Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007 and went on to serves in the Minnesota legislature. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she previously repr ...
,
R-
Big Lake, who had formerly served as
Minnesota Secretary of State
The secretary of state of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Twenty-two individuals have held the office of secretary of state since statehood. The incumbent is Steve Simon, ...
.
Support and opposition
Institutional support for the measure broke down largely by party, with
DFL leaders opposing the amendment, and
Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
supporting it. The two most recent Secretaries of State lined up on opposite sides, with Kiffmeyer pushing for adoption, and
Mark Ritchie speaking against it.
Opinion polls
Results
References
{{Minnesota elections
2012 Minnesota elections