Native Americans and voter ID: Is there a problem?
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As Election Day nears, concerns about Minnesota's photo ID amendment are turning up in native communities.
The latest come in a report from the National Congress of American Indians warning proposed laws and amendments in several states present "significant barriers" to some Native Americans on Election Day.
That includes a concern that Minnesota's constitutional amendment proposal "does not list tribal IDs as an acceptable form of identification to vote."
The Indian Country Today Media Network last week wrote, "The right to use tribal identification as legal voter ID in the state was a hard won battle for Minnesota's Native population." That battle was fought with then-Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, now the chief proponent of the photo ID amendment.
The network site wrote:
Although Kiffmeyer's legislative assistant, Kileen Lindgren, assured Indian Country Today Media Network that tribal ID would be considered legal under the new law, she was unable to provide any written documentation supporting this claim.
Up for discussion: Will the amendment hurt voting in Native American communities?
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