I still oppose Voter ID and so should you

On February 1st I testified against a proposed Constitutional amendment that would require Minnesotans to show a photo ID with their current address on it before being allowed to vote. Over five hours of testimony was heard by more than 30 groups as diverse as MPIRG, the ACLU, the Secretary of State’s office, AARP, and the League of Women Voters. This committee introduced Minnesota to the phrase that would characterize this legislative session: “The next legislative session will figure this out.”

MPIRG testified or attempted to testify in every relevant committee hearing on Voter ID. Sometimes MPIRG students were allowed to finish and were treated with respect, as I was. More often though, MPIRG students were bullied, cut off, or denied the opportunity to speak against amending our constitution.

The Minnesota House and Senate passed the bill to put this amendment on the 2012 ballot. It was not a party line vote. On November 6, all Minnesotans will vote on whether or not to amend the Constitution. MPIRG has immediately joined a coalition of groups opposed to this amendment called “Our Vote, Our Future.” We will be mobilizing all Minnesotans to vote no on Voter ID. MPIRG will be mobilizing thousands of students across the state to vote NO this November.

Yesterday I spoke at a press conference put on by Our Vote, Our Future. I told people that MPIRG will register tens of thousands of Minnesotan college students to vote and we will mobilize them to vote NO this November. The proponents of this amendment think college students are stupid, but we’re not. We know when there’s an attempt to limit our political power and we’ll fight back.

Written by Sydney Jordan