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2012 Minnesota Amendment 2

2012 Minnesota Amendment 2 was a proposed legislatively referred constitutional amendment that was on the ballot on November 6, 2012. If approved, it would have required a form of photographic identification before being permitted to vote in Minnesota municipal, state, and federal elections. However, it was defeated with 53.84% voting against and 46.16% for the measure.

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Minnesota Amendment 2
November 6, 2012
Voter ID Amendment
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 1,362,030 46.16%
No 1,588,752 53.84%
Valid votes 2,950,782 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00%
Total votes 2,950,782 100.00%
County results
Congressional district results
Precinct results
Results by county

2012 Minnesota Amendment 2 (also called Voter ID Amendment1) was a proposed legislatively referred constitutional amendment that was on the ballot on November 6, 2012. If approved, it would have required a form of photographic identification before being permitted to vote in Minnesota municipal, state, and federal elections. However, it was defeated with 53.84% voting against and 46.16% for the measure.2

Legislative approval

The Minnesota Legislature approved the amendment for the ballot in April 2012 on essentially a party-line vote. The amendment was promoted by Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, who had formerly served as Minnesota Secretary of State.3

Support and opposition

Institutional support for the measure broke down largely by party, with DFL leaders opposing the amendment, and Republicans supporting it. The two most recent Secretaries of State lined up on opposite sides, with Kiffmeyer pushing for adoption, and Mark Ritchie speaking against it.

Opinion polls

Date of opinion poll Conducted by Sample size For Against Undecided/Other Margin of error Question
May 2–5, 20114 Star Tribune 806 adults 80% 18% 2% ±4.7% "Please tell me if you would favor or oppose ... requiring Minnesota voters to show a photo ID in order to vote."
May 23–24, 20115 SurveyUSA 552 RV 76% 18% 1% not sure
4% not vote 		±3.6% "If an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution were on the ballot, that requires voters to present a photo ID at the polls, would you vote for the amendment? Against the amendment? Or not vote on the measure?"
June 6–8, 201167 Rasmussen Reports 1,000 LV 75% 18% 7% ±3% "Should voters be required to show photo identification such as a driver’s license before being allowed to vote?"
January 21–22, 201289 Public Policy Polling 1,236 voters 65% 30% 4% ±2.8% "Do you think the Minnesota Constitution should be amended to require that voters present a current and accurate driver's license, state ID, or voter ID card in order to cast a ballot, or not?"
January 31 – February 2, 201210 SurveyUSA 542 RV 70% 23% 4% not sure
4% not vote 		±4% "If an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution were on the ballot that would require voters to show photo I.D.'s in order to vote on Election Day, how would you vote?"
May 31 – June 3, 201211 Public Policy Polling 973 voters 58% 34% 8% ±3.1% "Should 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?"
July 17–19, 201212 SurveyUSA 552 LV 65% 28% 4% not sure
2% not vote 		±4.1% "An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution on the ballot would require voters to show photo I.D.'s in order to vote on Election Day. Will you vote FOR the amendment? Against the amendment? Or not vote on the measure?"
September 6–9, 201213 SurveyUSA 551 LV 62% 31% 7% ±4.1% "Also on the ballot is a measure about voter identification. It asks: 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?" ?"
September 10–11, 201214 Public Policy Polling 824 LV 56% 39% 5% not sure ±3.4% "Should 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?"
September 17–19, 201215 Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, Inc. 800 LV 52% 44% 4% ±3.5% "The November ballot will include several proposed constitutional amendments. One asks "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?"
October 5–8, 201216 Public Policy Polling 937 LV 51% 43% 6% not sure
0% won't vote 		±3.2% "Should 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?"
October 12–14, 201217 SurveyUSA 550 LV 53% 40% 7% ±4.3% "Also on the ballot is a measure about voter identification. It asks: 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?" "
October 15–21, 20121819 St. Cloud State University Survey 600 LV 55% 39% 3% not sure
3% won't vote 		±5% "This November Minnesota voters will vote on two proposed amendments to the Minnesota Constitution. One proposed amendment will ask, "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 you were to vote today, would you vote for the amendment, vote against the amendment, or not vote on this issue??"
October 23–25, 20122021 Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, Inc. 800 LV 53% 41% 6% ±3.5% "The November ballot will include several proposed constitutional amendments. One asks "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 the election were held today, would you vote YES in favor of the amendment NO against the amendment"
October 26–28, 201222 SurveyUSA 574 LV 55% 40% 5% ±4.2% "Also on the ballot is a measure about voter identification. It asks: 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?" "
November 1–3, 201223 SurveyUSA 556 LV 48% 48% 5% ±4.2% "Also on the ballot is a measure about voter identification. It asks: 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?" "
November 2–3, 201224 Public Policy Polling 1,164 LV 46% 51% 3% not sure
0% won't vote 		±2.9% "Should 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??"

Results

Constitutional Amendment 2
Photo identification required for voting
ChoiceVotes%
For1,362,03046.16
Against1,588,75253.84
Total2,950,782100.00
Registered voters/turnoutPrecincts Reporting - 100
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State - Results for Constitutional Amendments
References

References

  1. "Minnesota voter ID amendment defeated". twincities.com.
  2. "Voter ID Amendment". publicradio.org.
  3. "Voter ID amendment is now up to Minnesota's voters". startribune.com.
  4. MINNESOTA POLL DATA: Vast majority back photo IDs for voting Archived 2012-11-26 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "SurveyUSA News Poll #18243". www.surveyusa.com.
  6. 75% Support Showing Photo ID At The Polls Deprecated link archived 2013-02-09 at archive.today
  7. Reports, Rasmussen. "Questions - Elections - June 6-8, 2011 - Rasmussen Reports". www.rasmussenreports.com.
  8. "Minnesota Survey Results" (PDF). publicpolicypolling.com.
  9. "Dayton Sees Strong Approval in Minnesota" (PDF). publicpolicypolling.com.
  10. "SurveyUSA News Poll #18953". www.surveyusa.com.
  11. "Minnesotans' opposition to marriage amendment growing". publicpolicypolling.com.
  12. "SurveyUSA Election Poll #19394". www.surveyusa.com.
  13. "SurveyUSA Election Poll #19612". www.surveyusa.com.
  14. "Minnesota split on marriage amendment". publicpolicypolling.com.
  15. "MINNESOTA POLL RESULTS: Voter ID amendment". startribune.com.
  16. "Minnesota marriage amendment narrowly trails" (PDF). publicpolicypolling.com.
  17. "SurveyUSA Election Poll #19873". www.surveyusa.com.
  18. "St. Cloud State poll shows slender lead for opponents of marriage amendment". minnpost.com.
  19. "FALL STATEWIDE SURVEY OCTOBER, 2012" (PDF). minnpost.com.
  20. "Voter ID amendment: The poll results". startribune.com.
  21. "How the poll was conducted". startribune.com.
  22. "SurveyUSA Election Poll #20056". www.surveyusa.com.
  23. "SurveyUSA Election Poll #20105". www.surveyusa.com.
  24. "Obama up 8 in Minnesota, amendments trail for passage" (PDF). publicpolicypolling.com.