"Where Fillmore County News Comes First"
Online Edition
Thursday, May 23rd, 2013
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 11:44:26, May 21st 2013 - airmaxs52274 - Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your a ... [Read More]
- 5:56:33, May 18th 2013 - modgudur - I guess the child is anti-gun control since Obama went to all that trouble ... [Read More]
- 9:27:41, May 16th 2013 - caal girl - Nice outfit on you. I loved some of the dresses but am holding my breath ... [Read More]
- 2:03:34, May 14th 2013 - - Thanks for sharing the trip with us! ... [Read More]
- 4:12:01, May 9th 2013 - Amanda Ziebell - Wow! Thanks to the Fillmore County Journal for this kind story. For a ... [Read More]
- 11:47:30, May 7th 2013 - EW - ramble.....ramble.....ramble..... ... [Read More]
- 10:25:25, May 7th 2013 - Thunder6 - Great article! I love to see the Youth of Fillmore County receiveing acco ... [Read More]
- 6:52:10, May 6th 2013 - Jason Sethre, Publisher of Fillmore County Journal & Olmsted County Journal - Maryh, ... [Read More]
- 7:29:56, May 5th 2013 - maryh - Where are OCJ's available for pickup...other than at the new office? ... [Read More]
- 2:41:47, May 3rd 2013 - Remark1976 - Mrs. Buckbee, I just looked up Senate File 796 and in it there are said p ... [Read More]
Letter about Voter ID amendment
Fri, Sep 21st, 2012
Posted in Spring Valley Letter to the Editor
Posted in Spring Valley Letter to the Editor
Comments
To the Editor,
Please join with me to oppose the Voter ID amendment. AARP Minnesota opposes this amendment because many seniors in assisted living and nursing facilities do not have up-to-date photo identification cards. If residents have photo IDs, they usually have the address from their former home. Currently, nursing home staff can vouch that residents do live there. Other states with Voter ID laws have made exceptions for nursing homes, but the current proposed amendment does not. If I were living in a nursing home because I couldn’t walk or see, I would still want to vote.
Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities, the service arms of our churches, also oppose the photo ID amendment. They work with very poor people who move around a lot for various reasons, who rarely have photo IDs with their current address. The problem is that in their current chaotic lives, their birth certificates may be lost, and paying to get one so they can get a Voter ID card so they can vote is too much work and too much money.
Another problem is the distance to the county courthouse to get a voter ID. Residents of Finland, Minnesota have a polling place in town, but to get a current ID they must travel 80 miles to their courthouse, not an easy trip for frail elderly voters. Let’s preserve the right of seniors and poor people to vote. If a new amendment preserving absentee voting and making exceptions for nursing homes is put forward in two years, I might vote for it. But this amendment is unacceptable. Please join me in voting no to the Voter ID amendment.
Pastor Karen R. Grandall
Spring Valley, MN
Please join with me to oppose the Voter ID amendment. AARP Minnesota opposes this amendment because many seniors in assisted living and nursing facilities do not have up-to-date photo identification cards. If residents have photo IDs, they usually have the address from their former home. Currently, nursing home staff can vouch that residents do live there. Other states with Voter ID laws have made exceptions for nursing homes, but the current proposed amendment does not. If I were living in a nursing home because I couldn’t walk or see, I would still want to vote.
Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities, the service arms of our churches, also oppose the photo ID amendment. They work with very poor people who move around a lot for various reasons, who rarely have photo IDs with their current address. The problem is that in their current chaotic lives, their birth certificates may be lost, and paying to get one so they can get a Voter ID card so they can vote is too much work and too much money.
Another problem is the distance to the county courthouse to get a voter ID. Residents of Finland, Minnesota have a polling place in town, but to get a current ID they must travel 80 miles to their courthouse, not an easy trip for frail elderly voters. Let’s preserve the right of seniors and poor people to vote. If a new amendment preserving absentee voting and making exceptions for nursing homes is put forward in two years, I might vote for it. But this amendment is unacceptable. Please join me in voting no to the Voter ID amendment.
Pastor Karen R. Grandall
Spring Valley, MN