State Rep Tom Emmer Speaks Out On Voter ID

Minnesota State Capitol
Saint Paul, Minnesota
March 13, 2009

Republican State Representative Tom Emmer is known as a passionate advocate among his colleagues in the House GOP and as a polarizing sometimes ingratiating figure among his opponents at the Capitol. Either way, Emmer is committed to his ideology and ready to do battle on the things that he thinks are important to Minnesotans.

I sat down for a discussion with Rep. Emmer this week about Voter ID. The Bill would have required all Minnesotans to present an official ID before casting a ballot. Emmer is passionate about the subject and believes that requiring an ID to vote would help Minnesotans feel more confident about elections and add integrity to the system.

The Representative from Delano proposed Bill HF 0057 to address what he says is a problem before it becomes a bigger problem. He makes no apologies for wanting to be proactive and adds "it just makes sense when a majority of people want some form of ID to vote." Emmer says its partisanship that has kept the Bill from moving forward. "This year it appears to be incredibly partisan, its (Voter ID) not a partisan issue."

Critics of the Bill say it's completely unnecessary. Opponents say that Voter ID is aimed at a Voter fraud problem that doesn't exist. Emmer himself admits that he is "pleased" with our election systems in Minnesota, but quickly adds "we could do better". Controversy over the measure arose almost immediately during the first hearing for the Bill when Secretary of State Mark Richie testified against it and DFL members went on the offensive, calling the measure a "solution looking for a problem".

Emmer goes on to say that voters should be educated on the issues and the candidates before they vote. When I asked him if he was suggesting that we have a Poll Test, he responded by saying that the issue was about the way we are educating our kids, adding "we need to be talking about civic responsibility".

Emmer says that the Coleman Franken trial has brought into sharp focus some of the issues in Minnesota's election system. Without missing a beat he points out that some precincts in Minneapolis had more votes than registered voters. Whether you agree with him or not, there's no mistaking Emmer's passion on the subject.

Here is a link to the HF 0057:
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=House&f=HF0057&ssn=0&y=2009

Here is the video of my discussion with Rep. Emmer.