Administrative law judge dismisses complaint against Ritchie
An administrative law judge has dismissed a complaint against DFL Secretary of State Mark Ritchie that alleged he made false statements about the proposed voter ID constitutional amendment.
Among other things, Republican Sens. Mike Parry of Waseca and Scott Newman of Hutchinson, said that Ritchie had falsely claimed that the provisional balloting system created by the amendment may cost the state millions based on current estimates.
Parry and Newman argued that these were estimates and therefore speculative.
But Administrative Law Judge Bruce H. Johnson disagreed, writing that the claim made on the secretary of state's website "may be pessimistic, but it is not demonstrably false."
Johnson backed Ritchie on other counts, too. He wrote that Ritchie's statements about how the new voter ID rules could affect same-day voter registration and absentee voting were "not false."
You can read the entire ruling here.
Parry said that he and Newman are meeting with their lawyer to decide what to do next. The duo has two days to appeal Johnson's decision.
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