A dozen years ago, proving who you were at the polls wasn’t a big issue. But then came the presidential election of 2000, which spotlighted mechanical
and other flaws in Florida’s vote-counting system and ended with the U.S.
Supreme Court intervening to declare a winner. That high-stakes drama touched off a re-examination of election processes and
led several states over the next decade to tighten ID requirements to reduce the
possibility of fraud.
By 2011, voter ID was “the hottest topic of legislation in the field of
elections,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Minnesota, voters in November will be deciding whether to move from having
no voter ID requirement to adopting one of the strictest in the nation. In 2001, only 14 states even asked for ID — and it was a request, not a
requirement. Since 2001, nearly 1,000 voter ID bills have been introduced in a total of 46
states. Thirty-three states have passed voter ID laws, and at least 30 will be
in place for November’s election.
Link to full story at the Pioneer Press.