I live in Woodbury, MN, a suburb of the Twin Cities, in MN-6 district- hopefully soon home of Rep. Patty Wetterling. This week I received the innocuous monthly Woodbury City Update, this issue with lots of voting information including Polling sites, how to vote absentee, and how to register to vote. For those who do not know, Minnesota is the rare state that allows registration on election day. To register, you obviously need some ID to show you live in the precinct you want to vote in- even a utility bill is fine. Even without written proof, you can have a currently registered voter "vouch" for you- that is tell the election official that you know this person lives in your precinct.
I was surprised that this Woodbury Update had a sentence that said, "All voters should be prepared to provide an updated Minnesota driver's license (with Woodbury address) on election day."
This is clearly not correct. If you have already registered, you just go to the Poll, tell them your name, sign the form, and vote. No ID is ever needed. Indeed, I was upset in 2004 when asked for a driver's license at the Poll. I told them it was not needed, and the officials agreed, and said they just asked to speed up finding names. This is still not right to ask.
I emailed the contact for the Woodbury City Update and received this reply:
Pre-registration is an important step in the election process
and most voters who have pre-registered are not required to provide a Minnesota Driver's License prior to voting.
There are two circumstances that require voters to provide an updated
Minnesota Driver's License and/or other forms of identification used for
Election Day registration (as listed in the article). One circumstance
is a "See ID" notation on the polling place roster where a voter would
sign his or her name. This means the voter mailed in his/her
registration and he/she is a first time voter in a federal election in
Minnesota and, therefore, must show one of the forms of identification
used for Election Day registration other than the oath of a registered
voter in the precinct (i.e., not "vouching").
The second circumstance is when the voter needs to proceed with Election
Day registration. This may occur if the voter has not voted in some time
and/or there are changes to his/her registration.
The statement in the city's newsletter is an important reminder to
voters that they should carry the proper form of identification as there
may be circumstances that require a voter to show proper identification.
We included this information in the article so voters could come
prepared and not be potentially disappointed or delayed should
identification be requested. The same exact language was used in 2004
election information. Woodbury's voter turnout was excellent, well above
the state average. We have no reason to believe there was a negative
impact.
I replied that this response does not really address the misinformation:
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my email. There are a couple problems with your rationale for including this misleading information in the Woodbury Update.
1. "an updated Minnesota Driver's License and/or other forms of identification used for Election Day registration (as listed in the article)" (as in your reply) is not the same as stating or suggesting a Driver's license is need to vote. There are many potential voters who do not have a driver's license. Therefore, your wording is very imprecise and potentially detrimental to having all eligible voter's vote.
2. The fact that this wording was used in 2004 and turnout was good is irrelevant. I do not think voter turnout was 100%. If this wording discourages even one potential voter (maybe someone disabled or elderly who does not have a driver's license) from voting, then that is a loss.
Again, I think it should be made clear to all voters in the city that a driver's license is not needed to vote. This is what the Update suggested, and this is wrong. I will try to get some more information and advice, but I may refer this matter to the Minnesota Secretary of State office to clarify what should be done so that potential voters are not misled.
Again, thank you for your attention to this matter.
I do not think this is a malicious attempt to suppress voter turnout, but is detrimental nevertheless.
So, question for knowledgeable Kossacks. What to do next? I suggested the city send out a letter to all residents with correct information, clearly stating that a driver's license is not needed to vote. What else? Report this to the Minnesota Secretary of State's office (Republican run)? Report to the DFL or elsewhere? Or just forget about it?
There will be some close races in this area- including MN-6, and State House and Senate. Getting out every eligible voter will matter.