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| Date: | August 27, 2012 | | Contact Name: | Peter Winiecki | | Contact Phone: | 651-297-8077 | | Contact Email: | peter.winiecki@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS LIMMER PETITION FOR AMENDMENT TITLES; VOTER ID TO REMAIN ON NOVEMBER BALLOT |
St. Paul – The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled today that the titles of the constitutional amendment questions which will appear on the ballot in November must remain consistent with the language applied to them by the Minnesota Legislature.
State Senator Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove) was a leading voice among several state lawmakers who joined in a lawsuit objecting to the Secretary of State and Attorney General’s involvement surrounding the change of title language of both amendment questions.
“Whether you agree or disagree with the upcoming amendment questions, this is a big day for the people of Minnesota. Today the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the legislatively-created title for both the Marriage Amendment and the Voter ID Amendment that will be presented to the people in the upcoming November General Election,” said Senator Limmer. “The reason why I say it is a big day for the people of Minnesota is because the election process written into law by the representational branch of our government (the one that represents the people) was clearly upheld by the Supreme Court.”
In the majority opinion, the court agreed with Senator Limmer and other petitioners against the Secretary of State and the Attorney General. The Supreme Court concluded “we hold that the Secretary of State erred and exceeded his authority when he provided titles for the ballot questions on the proposed marriage and voter identification amendments different from the titles chosen by the Legislature. Instead, the appropriate titles the Secretary of State must provide are the titles passed by the Legislature….”
Senator Limmer added: “During the legislative process, we were extremely careful to apply a neutral, objective title to each ballot question. We do not want any voter to be misinformed about what a ballot question asks by reading a misleading title. As a result of today’s Supreme Court decision, voters will have a clear, accurate and informative description of the constitutional amendment questions they are being asked to vote on in November.”
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