If passed in the fall, the Republican-led amendment would require all voters to provide a state-approved photo identification card at polling stations. And it would change the way college students with temporary residency could vote in local elections, especially on school referendum and property tax ballots. . .

In order to vote, the proposed law states the voter must have an “original receipt for a new, renewed or updated driver’s license, state identification card, or voter identification card” that clearly lists the residency within the precinct. A student I.D. will work only if it is coupled with a state-issued driver’s license with a current address.

Far from “disenfranchising” students as some critics contend, the proposed ID requirement offers student voters a choice, as pinpointed in an MPR commentary:

A student may have been here for years attending a Minnesota college or university, have lived in Minnesota the whole time and still have a driver’s license and vehicle registration from another state. This student may have a difficult time getting a valid Minnesota I.D. without becoming a resident of Minnesota.   This does not mean that they cannot vote; they just have to vote in their state of residence, or become residents of Minnesota.