Minnesota’s election law fight heats up over voter ID bill

The fight has heated up over whether Minnesota should tighten its election laws or make voting easier.

A key Senate panel Wednesday backed a Republican proposal to require voters to present photo identification. Sen. Scott Newman framed it as aimed more at increasing voter confidence in election results than at preventing fraud. But Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon blasted the effort. He said an ID requirement could disenfranchise “hundreds of thousands of eligible voters.”

The bill is unlikely to become law due to strong Democratic opposition.