St. Paul – The Minnesota Senate approved a bill that asks Minnesotans to provide photo identification for in-person, absentee, and mail-in voting. The bill also provides a new voter identification card free of charge for individuals who lack proper identification or cannot afford it. The bill would make Minnesota the 37th state that uses some form of identification when voting.

“Recent polling by the Associate Press shows 72% of Americans support the showing identification before casting a ballot.” said Senator David Senjem (R-Rochester). “Implementing voter identification in Minnesota is an easy but important way to make sure that those voting in Minnesota have a right to vote, are who they say they are, and live where they say they live.”

The bill makes sure that those eligible to vote will be able to vote. Voters who come to the polls without identification will be able to vote provided they prove who they are following the election. If they cannot prove who they are with documents they will be allowed to sign a document affirming they are a legal voter and their vote will count. In 2008 a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Crawford v. Marion County, the Court held that an Indiana law requiring voter identification did not violate the U.S. Constitution