Over
the last month, Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has been very
actively pushing the claim that the Photo ID amendment on the ballot next month
will prevent Minnesota military voters from being able to cast a ballot. This claim has been echoed by leaders and
activists in the DFL party, including DFL chair Ken Martin and former SecState
Joan Growe. Secretary Ritchie in
particular has come under fire for his aggressive efforts to defeat the
amendment, triggering stinging rebukes from the Gold Star Mothers of Minnesota
and the Minnesota Veterans of Foreign Wars.
But the real controversy
surrounding Sec Ritchie’s claim is that it is completely and demonstrably
false.
In
order to come to the conclusion that Minnesota military voters will be
prevented from voting, you have to follow a twisted line of reasoning that goes
like this;
-If passed, the voter ID amendment will
require a Photo ID that includes the voter’s current address (FALSE)
-Military ID cards do not include addresses
(TRUE)
-Members of the military move more often
than civilians, therefore they are less likely to have a current Photo ID with
an up to date address (PLAUSIBLE)
-Military leaders around the globe will
choose to interpret a state law in the most narrow and literal sense, and
refuse to sign the absentee ballot witness statement (FALSE)
The
truth of the matter could not be farther from the scenario Sec Ritchie
presents. First, there is no
requirement, either in the actual language on the ballot or the proposed language to amend the Constitution, to require an address on your Photo
ID. This isn’t an assumption on the
Secretary’s part-it is a transparent fabrication in order to manufacture a red
herring. Sec Ritchie is claiming that only a Photo ID with an address will
suffice-but the proposed amendment simply states that a ‘government issued
photographic identification’ is needed.
This simple fact undercuts the entire argument from the start. Every member of the United States military,
whether overseas or on American soil, is required to have a Photo ID. In fact,
the military uses the current ID card for so much more than you would think.
Today’s
military ID card is not the hand written and laminated square of plastic from
years gone by. Today we use a ‘CAC’ or Common
Access Card. It is a smart card that combines Photo ID with computer
encryption to create a digital ID. CAC
cards are used with a password to sign on to government computers, affix a
digital signature on documents, and electronically sign for your military issue
clothing and equipment. Today’s military
ID is required for daily military life, which is why today’s military members
ALWAYS have their Photo ID with them.
That means Minnesotans serving in the military ALWAYS have the specific
form of Photo ID required by the proposed amendment to vote.
So
if military voters will have the required Photo ID, what else will they need to
do to cast a ballot? Well, just like
with the current absentee ballot, they will need to show that Photo ID to a
notary or witness who is a registered voter in MN. So who in the military will be able to sign
the witness statement? On large active
duty bases as well as Navy ships at sea, federal law and military regulation requires
a designated voting assistance office, where soldiers and sailors can bring
their absentee ballot, fill in their choices, and have the ballot sealed by a
commissioned officer who serves as the witness.
At smaller bases or for Guard and Reserve unit deployments, each unit
appoints a Voting Assistance Officer, who is required to be knowledgeable and available
to assist servicemembers with voting. In
either case, the notion that military members will be unable to prove their
identity to a fellow servicemember who has been trained in voting procedures is
simply laughable.
And
just for reference purposes, Army Regulation 27-55
lays out the process for military notary services, which by federal law take
precedence over state law. In addition
to all Judge Advocate officers and senior enlisted members, all commissioned officers
in the US military have the legal authority to swear an oath for another
servicemember. Also, each unit appointed
Voting Assistance Officer has the authority to act a witness on an absentee ballot,
according to the Army
Voting Action Plan 2012.
But
for argument’s sake, let’s delve into the Secretary’s fantasy world of
addresses being required on a Photo ID.
Let’s stipulate, for a moment, that the 2013 Legislature and the
Secretary of State’s office work together to interpret the amendment in the strictest and most anal
retentive way possible, and addresses were required to be on your Photo
ID. In that fantasy world, military
voters will still have absolutely no problem casting a ballot. Why? Because the language of the amendment
states that those not voting in person must be subject to ‘substantially
equivalent” identity verification before being allowed to vote. It does not say the same, it does not say
equal, and it does not even say Photo ID.
Substantially equivalent. So how
does a servicemember prove his or her legal address?
The
military is in the process of doing away with paper forms (saving millions of
trees no doubt) but we still keep extensive and duplicate records on our members,
now mostly on computer. My legal address
is captured in no less than half a dozen official forms in the military. W-4 lists my address for tax
purposes. SF-1199A requires my address
for Direct Deposit of my military pay. DD-2876
requires my address to enroll in the military health care plan called
Tricare. DA-5960 requires my
address in order to pay a housing allowance, along with needing a copy of my
current mortgage or lease which, of course, shows my legal address. Anytime Reserve/National Guard members are
placed on active duty, our orders capture the current home of record for pay
purposes. DA 2058
explicitly requires me to give my current legal residence so that the military
can notify the tax collectors in that state.
Married members of the military are required to give their home address
on DD-1561
(Authorization of Family Separation Pay), SGLV-8286
(Designation of Beneficiaries of Life Insurance), and good old DD-93,
(Record of Emergency Data), which needs my address in the event I am killed in
action.
What do all the above forms (and dozens of others I missed) have
in common? They are legal documents
which require me to state my address for official military purposes. Giving a false address on any of these could
result in prosecution for fraud by military authorities. So, any
one of these documents would satisfy the ‘substantially equivalent’ clause
of the proposed amendment. Secretary
Ritchie’s claim requires you to believe that I would take my absentee ballot,
military ID and any of the above forms to my platoon leader to act as a
witness, and he would then have to tell me ‘sorry, but I can’t be sure if you
actually are who you say you are’. 2nd
Lieutenants in the military are the butt of many jokes, but I’ve yet to find
one that obtuse.
Secretary
Ritchie’s outrageous claim that military voters will be prevented from voting
is based on false propaganda (address required on the Photo ID), assumes the
worst interpretation of ‘substantially equivalent’ even though that is not in
line with the spirit or intent of the law, and then posits the concept that
NCO’s and officers in uniform will be complicit in preventing military voters
from casting their ballot by refusing to attest to their identity. The fact that Secretary Ritchie can repeat
this claim with a straight face would be laughable if it wasn’t so insulting to
the intelligence of Minnesota voters.
But the fact that Sec Ritchie has singled out military families and
veterans groups to make this claim to is over the top partisan political
campaigning, and it has started a backlash.
Part
2 tomorrow-the firestorm of criticism and outrage by members of the Minnesota Department
of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in reaction to Sec Ritchie’s claim. Fair warning-combat veterans are not known
for pulling their punches.
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