Humphrey Student Report Analyzes Impact of Voter ID in Minnesota

[Image courtesy of hhh.umn.edu]

One of my favorite things about working at the Humphrey School is the opportunity to interact with students who are destined to continue the tradition of skilled public service that is at the core of the School’s mission.

Earlier this year, I met a group of masters’ degree candidates – Melissa Young, Nina Huntington and Nicholas Anhut – who were studying Minnesota’s proposed voter ID amendment as part of their Humphrey capstone project. On behalf of their client, the Association of Minnesota Counties, the students were asked to determine the costs associated with managing a voter identification system if the amendment is enacted by voters this November.

Their report (summarized in a lovely one-pager here) is impressively thorough (including a look at voter ID implementation in other states) and does a nice job of laying out the direct and indirect costs of voter ID in Minnesota.

The report concludes that voter ID

will fundamentally change the state’s election system. Few states, notably Georgia and Indiana, have implemented equally stringent identification requirements. Executing voter photo identification in Minnesota poses an unprecedented challenge in accommodating Election Day registration. In addition, state and local officials will face monumental tasks: influencing enabling legislation, drafting sound election rules and procedures, and effectively managing election costs. Lastly, with an implementation date of November 2013, time and resources will be extremely limited for effectively addressing all challenges.

Consistent with the public administration focus of their program, the students go on to make several specific recommendations about implementation should the amendment pass:

• Encourage expanded parameters so as to include all federal, state and tribal issued photo identification including government employee, military, student IDs and passports.

• Advocate state financial support of electronic poll books as a component to eligibility
verification at polling places.

• Create clear and consistent standards for casting and counting provisional ballots, as
well as allow for ballots to be counted even if cast in the incorrect precinct.

• Collaborate with cities and townships to address increased training and staffing cost
crucial to the implementation of a verification process.

• Consider alternatives such as encouragement of early voting, establishment of vote
centers, and development of tools like real-time polling place wait time smartphone
applications.

This really is an excellent piece of work; one which I highly recommend to anyone interested in going behind the partisan rhetoric and focusing instead on what it takes to move voter ID from policy to practice. Melissa Young, Nina Huntington and Nicholas Anhut have done a terrific service, not just their client, but to the entire election community in researching and producing this report.