Panel reaches deal on Minn. voter ID bill

Caucus straw polls
A driver's license is scanned at caucus attendees check in at Rutherford Elementary School in Stillwater, Minn. Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. The voter identification system was being tested in Stillwater.
MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

A proposed constitutional amendment requiring Minnesota voters to present photo identification at polling places is on the cusp of reaching November's ballot.

A House-Senate conference committee signed off Monday night on an agreement putting the question before voters. It heads back to the two chambers where passage is virtually certain.

Gov. Mark Dayton has no authority to block the measure from appearing on the ballot.

If voters adopt the amendment, the new photo ID requirement would be effective for elections in fall of 2013 onward.

Photo ID requirements in other states are subject to court challenges, and some in Minnesota are threatening to sue if it is implemented here.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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