GOP legislative leaders said during a press conference this morning in Rochester they are planning to move aggressively to get a bill passed that would require voters to show photo ID in order to vote.
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the bill tomorrow. Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said the Senate could take up the bill this week. A similar measure is also working its way through the House.
Legislative leaders said they were pleased to hear DFL Gov. Mark Dayton say he might be willing to consider signing a Voter ID bill. DFLers in the legislature have been strongly opposed to such a measure arguing it would create major burdens for some legal voters from casting their ballots. But Republicans say photo ID is needed to protect against voter fraud. Rep. Mike Benson, R-Rochester, is sponsoring a voter ID bill in the House.
Dayton has said in order to consider such a bill it would have to include a requirement for quarterly campaign finance reporting in order to improve disclosure about campaign spending. Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers said during the press conference that the GOP is willing to consider including that in order to make a deal. Koch said lawmakers plan to work closely with the governor and his staff on the bill.
"The question is will the governor sign it and we are going to be working very hard to get a signature on that," she said.
