St. Paul, MN -- Citing Minnesota's already exemplary election system and the lack of broad bipartisan support, today, Governor Mark Dayton vetoed Chapter 69, SF 509, the bill which would require voters to show photo identification before receiving a ballot.

Dayton agreed with previous Governors, including Republicans Pawlenty and Carlson, that changes to election law require broad bipartisan support before being signed into law. Dayton noted the bill represents a $23 million unfunded mandate on local units of government, and does nothing to address one of the frequently cited concerns - felons voting illegally.

In an effort to develop a bipartisan solution, Governor Dayton today issued Executive Order 11-18 on Election Integrity. The order will establish a Task Force on Election Integrity which will study and make recommendations to modernize the State's elections, including addressing how to prevent fraudulent and felon voting.

In his letter, Dayton noted "it is my duty as Governor to ensure every eligible Minnesota voter is able to exercise this fundamental right [to vote], and does not face barriers to do so."

A copy of today's /governor/assets/Ch-69-SF509.pdf_tcm1055-93190.pdfveto message and /governor/assets/Executive-Order-11-18.pdf_tcm1055-93291.pdfExecutive Order are attached.