by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Minnesota voters defeated two proposed constitutional amendments in Tuesday’s election.
One amendment would have legally defined marriage as only between one man and one woman, thus barring the possibility of same-sex marriage, which is already not legally possible in the state.
The other amendment would have required people to have a photo ID when they vote.
Many political observers were stunned at the two amendment proposals’ defeat. That is because polls had shown fairly strong statewide support for them in the past few months.
The two proposals had been placed on the ballot by a Republican-controlled Minnesota Legislature. Tuesday’s election reversed that control, giving Democrats control of both the state Senate and House.
Richard Carlbom, former mayor of St. Joseph, was instrumental in helping defeat the marriage amendment. Carlbom was campaign manager for Minnesotans United for Families, which organized against the marriage amendment.
“This conversation doesn’t end tonight. It’s only just begun,” Carlbom was quoted as saying in an Associated Press story. “Because we beat this amendment, Minnesota is in a position to ensure the next generation can participate in the conversation about who can participate in marriage.”
Requiring voter IDs has become law in several states, but controversy has surrounded the effort in many places with opponents claiming it is an example of “voter suppression.” Proponents, however, insist a voter ID requirement would ensure the integrity of every election by preventing voter fraud.
Voters defeated the marriage amendment by 1,506,302 to 1,398,500 (51.32 percent to 47.64 percent).
The photo ID amendment was voted down 1,534,551 to 1,361,082 (52.28 percent to 46.37 percent).
