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| SENATOR BENSON DEFENDS MARRIAGE AMENDMENT TITLE | ||||||||||
(ST. PAUL) - Senator Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake) has joined in a lawsuit with numerous other members of the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives challenging Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s attempt to change the title of the constitutional question on the ballot concerning marriage.
Senator Mike Parry (R-Waseca), chairman of the Senate State Government Innovation and Veterans Committee, held hearings on Friday to question the Secretary of State about the title changes of the marriage and voter ID amendments.
Secretary Ritchie and Attorney General Lori Swanson were both requested to be present. Neither made themselves available for the committee hearing.
The committee explored whether or not Secretary Ritchie’s active and very public campaign against both of the constitutional amendments on the ballot have crossed the line, used public money to campaign against and influence the outcome of a ballot question that his office is charged with submitting to the electorate, and whether or not Secretary Ritchie should now be subject to campaign finance laws and required to register with the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.
The title as the Legislature agreed to in the bill is "Recognition of marriage solely between one man and one woman." In an attempt to change the heart of the amendment as well as sow discord and create enmity among voters Secretary Ritchie has attempted to characterize the question in the negative with "Limiting the Status of Marriage to Opposite Sex Couples."
The amendment as titled by the legislature simply reinforces and agrees with current Minnesota statute. The title the Secretary of State is seeking to use seems designed to intentionally mislead voters.
“I believe Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has no authorization or power to re-title the constitutional question concerning the marriage amendment on the ballot. He has exceeded the bounds of the authority of his office,” said Senator Benson.
Senator Benson continued, “When the Minnesota Legislature provides for a title as part of the constitutional question, it is unreasonable for the Secretary of State to provide a different, more convoluted title for voters.”
“I also think it is important to note that the title in the bill was presented by DFL Senator Dibble, debated on the Senate floor and adopted in a bipartisan vote of 49 for and 16 against. The Marriage amendment itself only had limited DFL support, but the title had strong support from both sides,” concluded Senator Benson.
The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear the matter on July 31, 2012 at 9 a.m.
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