Voters will decide two proposed amendments to state’s Constitution

Douglas County voters will have a hand in deciding two proposed Constitutional amendments on the ballot.

The first one concerns the definition of marriage: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota?”

If this passes, the following would be added to the Minnesota Constitution: Article XIII, Sec. 13. “Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota.”

The second proposed amendment deals with voter identification: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require all voters to present valid photo identification to vote and to require the state to provide free identification to eligible voters, effective July 1, 2013?”

If this passes, the following would be added to the Minnesota Constitution: Article VII, Section 1. “All voters voting in person must present valid government-issued photographic identification before receiving a ballot. The state must issue photographic identification at no charge to an eligible voter who does not have a form of identification meeting the requirements of this section. A voter unable to present government-issued photographic identification must be permitted to submit a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot must only be counted if the voter certifies the provisional ballot in the manner provided by law. All voters, including those not voting in person, must be subject to substantially equivalent identity and eligibility verification prior to a ballot being cast or counted.”

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