Most Surveyed Favor Showing Photo IDs At The Polls

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - An overwhelming majority of Minnesotans surveyed favor showing photo identification at the election polls.

A recent poll shows 80 percent of respondents support the idea. Both houses of the Legislature have ready passed a bill that requires identification, but a veto from Gov. Mark Dayton is anticipated.

Republicans are already preparing for that possibility by introducing a constitutional amendment that would ask voters themselves to decide in the 2012 election whether the requirement should be enforced.

The bipartisan battle at the Capitol this spring over the issue is reflected in the latest poll. Ninety-four percent of Republicans supported the photo ID, while 64 percent of Democrats oppose it.

The poll of 806 Minnesotans was conducted last week. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.