Ritchie asks newspapers for amendment help
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie is calling on newspapers throughout the state to help inform voters about the two constitutional amendments on the ballot this year.
Ritchie sent a letter asking editors to dedicate space to print the actual text of the two proposed amendments, one defining marriage as between one man and one woman, and the other requiring photo identification in order to vote.
"Traveling throughout the state over the past few months I have talked to many Minnesotans who did not know that the actual language of what is being proposed by the Legislature to be added to our state's Constitution will not be printed on their ballot," Ritchie wrote. "This seems odd to many voters given the importance of the Constitution as our state's highest law."
Ritchie also noted that the Legislature used to pay to have the full text of what they were proposing printed in every newspaper. He said he will try to convince lawmakers to re-establish the practice.
"But for this year we have a problem," he said. "It is very hard to find out what is being proposed without spending quite a bit of time on the Internet."
Republicans have claimed Ritchie is inappropriately campaigning against the amendments. Two GOP senators recently filed a complaint with the Office of Administrative Hearings accusing him of multiple violations of state campaign law.
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