Federal judge Donovan Frank has thrown out a lawsuit that sought to force state officials to check the eligibility of voters who register on Election Day before their ballots are counted.
The suit, brought by the Minnesota Voters Alliance and others, says there is no way to pull back an ineligible vote after the fact and that allowing ineligible votes could affect the result in close races.
Attorneys for the state argued it has no obligation to verify eligibility before counting votes and that trying to do so would not be practical.
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie issued a statement Friday, Aug. 17, saying the ruling "affirmed the constitutionality of same-day voter registration" and will allow an estimated 500,000 voters to register on Election Day this November.
He said the state's same-day voter registration system is still threatened by the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would require voters to show photo ID at the polling place. That amendment, if passed by voters, "would eliminate same-day voter registration as we know it," Ritchie said.
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