Browse human rights-related news stories
September 2012 - Present
May 2013
- Minnesota ushers in gay marriage
"You changed the course of history," Gov. Dayton said as Minnesota became the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage. - Star Tribune - 'Ban the Box' signed into law
Gov. Mark Dayton this week signed the bill, which is aimed at giving ex-felons a better chance at getting a job in the private sector. It prohibits most private employers from asking job applicants about criminal backgrounds until later in the process -- at the point of an interview or a provisional job offer. - Star Tribune - FAQ: Same-sex marriage law
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota's law allowing same-sex marriage goes into effect Aug. 1. On that day, same-sex couples can apply for a marriage license in Minnesota. - MPR - St. Paul fails to reach goal of hiring people with disabilities
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The city of St. Paul is looking for new ways to increase the number of people with disabilities who get jobs on city contracts after years of failing to meet its goals in that area. - MPR - Firing wife costs St. Cloud auto parts firm $55,000
As part of first marital discrimination suit filed by state in decade, an auto parts chain pays Willmar woman it fired after husband got new job. - Star Tribune - Minnesota honors Juanita Jackson Mitchell
Dignitaries and well-wishers alike packed the State Capitol Rotunda to celebrate and honor the works of civil rights pioneer Juanita Jackson Mitchell. - Insight News - Black suspensions more than double other students' in suburban schools
Hopkins is not the only Minneapolis suburban school with higher suspension rates among Blacks. Black student suspension rates are at least two times higher than any other student group in over a dozen Twin Cities suburban schools. - Spokesman-Recorder - Housing recovery in Minnesota leaves minorities behind
Eduardo Romero Sanchez thought he had one last chance to save his house. He paid a man $1,800 after he heard a radio ad saying he could modify his mortgage to eliminate soaring monthly payments. - Star Tribune - Minnesota House gay marriage showdown is Thursday
Minnesota might be poised to become the 12th state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, as House leaders prepare for a floor vote Thursday, May 9. - Pioneer Press - Sharp drop in African-American male enrollment in med schools
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Fewer African-American males were enrolled in the first year of medical schools last year than 32 years ago, a trend that, if left uncorrected, could hamper efforts to provide quality health care to underserved communities, according to a top officer in the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). - Insight News - Delaware, Continuing a Trend, Becomes the 11th State to Allow Same-Sex Unions
Delaware on Tuesday became the 11th state to permit same-sex marriage, the latest in a string of victories for those working to extend marital rights to gay and lesbian couples. - NY Times - St. Paul settles suit brought by deaf motorist for $93K
A deaf man who accused St. Paul police officers of beating him because he requested that an officer communicate with him in writing is scheduled to settle a federal lawsuit with the city for $93,450. - Pioneer Press - State health officials hope to build more trust, better communication with communities of color
A Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) survey last fall found that communication barriers such as language, trust, culture and literacy exist that prevent health messages from reaching various communities. - MN Spokesman-Recorder - Mother of autistic child fights for equal care, says proposed laws could disadvantage Black and low-income people
"State legislators want to create two different healthcare policies for kids with autism: one that generously covers the privately insured, and the other that gives minimal coverage to the poor and publicly insured, but both using state funds," says Idil Abdull of Burnsville and mother of a 10-year-old son with autism. - TC Daily Planet - Urban League president calls on more African-Americans to become entrepreneurs; takes area corporations to task
Economic empowerment is the next phase of the civil rights movement. - Insight News - Official details local human rights office to potential member cities
Commissioner Kevin Lindsey was on hand with local Enforcement Officer Richard Cousins to give more information about the St. Cloud Regional Human Rights Office. - Saint Cloud Times - State Human Rights Commissioner to Speak at Joint Cities Meeting
Commissioner Lindsey says he was invited to speak by St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis, who is trying to convince the other metro area cities to join the Regional Human Rights Office. - WJON
April 2013
- Regulators strike at bank payday loans
Federal bank regulators clamped down Thursday on the deposit advances banks offer, a first step in what's expected to be a broader crackdown on the country's multibillion-dollar payday loan industry. - Star Tribune - Retailers Track Employee Thefts in Vast Databases
Facing a wave of employee theft, retailers across the country have helped amass vast databases of workers accused of stealing and are using that information to keep employees from working again in the industry. - NY Times - Legislators to propose civil unions for gay and lesbian couples
The fight to legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota is about to get a new twist at the Capitol as a group of legislators unveil a proposal to allow civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. - Star Tribune
March 2013
- Arizona bill would tie public restroom use to birth gender in tussle over transgender rights
PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers have jumped in to the national debate over the rights of transgender people with a bill being debated Wednesday that would make it illegal for people to use public restrooms not associated with their birth gender. - Star Tribune - Chipotle pulls sponsorship of Utah Boy Scout event due to organization's ban on gays
Chipotle Mexican Grill has pulled its sponsorship of Utah's "Scout-O-Rama" because of the Boy Scouts of America's long-standing ban on gays. Chipotle's anti-discrimination policy states that the company shouldn't support organizations that exclude based on sexual orientation. - Star Tribune - Does the Twin Cities Have a Hiring Bias?
There are hundreds of office buildings in Downtown Minneapolis where thousands of people work. According to a 2009 Economic Policy Institute report, not surprisingly, most of the people in those buildings are white. - KSTP - Minnesota Senate panel OKs bill granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants
A Senate panel passed a bill on Monday that would let illegal immigrants get a Minnesota driver's license, the most recent development in a push at the Capitol to train and insure more drivers who aren't U.S. citizens. - Pioneer Press - Urgency for a better-trained Minnesota workforce
We're going to need one that's world-class. It's the key to surviving the gray tsunami. - Star Tribune
February 2013
- Minnesota's early-voting proposal raises constitutional questions
A proposal to allow early voting in Minnesota reopened old wounds Wednesday over a failed bid to require voters to show photo ID. - Star Tribune - Young black men in Minnesota: A clarion call for help
Commentary: Minnesota's long-standing reputation as a progressive state may very well be in jeopardy. - MinnPost - GOP Minnesota legislator preparing to co-sponsor gay marriage bill
Republican state Sen. Branden Petersen is preparing to become a co-sponsor of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota. - Star Tribune - Early Minn. voting options explored
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A bill to open Minnesota voting booths two weeks before an election and allow voting on weekends is being aired for the first time. - MPR - Obama's Shifts May Affect U.S. Legal Plan on Gay Marriage
In May, in announcing his support for same-sex marriage, Mr. Obama said the issue should be decided state by state. In his Inaugural Address last month, Mr. Obama seemed to make a case for a more national approach. - NY Times - Duluth macing incident about muffins, or racism?
A 24-year-old man says he had no expectation that a surveillance video he posted of himself getting pepper-sprayed in the face at a Duluth convenience store by another customer would be widely viewed, the Duluth News Tribune reports. - Duluth News Tribune - 'What's right is right': Widowed lesbian pushes for equal military benefits
When her spouse was killed in Afghanistan, Tracy Johnson drove across town to her mother-in-law's house — clutching her marriage certificate — so she could hear the Army's formal notification. No one from the military came to her door. - NBC News - Postal service issues Rosa Parks stamp on 100th anniversary of civil rights pioneer's birth
DEARBORN, Mich. - The U.S. Postal Service has issued a Rosa Parks stamp on what would have been the late civil rights icon's 100th birthday. - Star Tribune
January 2013
- Boy Scouts considering retreat from no-gays policy; unit sponsors could set membership rules
NEW YORK - Facing diverse and ceaseless protests, the Boy Scouts of America is signaling its readiness to end the nationwide exclusion of gays as scouts or leaders and give the sponsors of local troops the freedom to decide the matter for themselves. - Star Tribune - Students, parents seek answers after black doll hung at Washburn High
Students, parents, educators and concerned members of the community packed inside the auditorium of Washburn High School hoping to get answers following the hanging of a black doll. - Insight News - Education Department tells schools to find ways for disabled students to play sports
WASHINGTON - Students with disabilities must be given a fair shot to play on a traditional sports team or have their own leagues, the Education Department says. - Star Tribune - Study: Open enrollment increasing racial segregation in Twin Cities schools
MINNEAPOLIS — The state's open enrollment policy is increasing racial segregation in Twin Cities-metro area school districts, according to a report out Friday from the University of Minnesota. - MPR - Minnesota's new 'white flight': school open-enrollment program
A state program intended to help integrate school districts and balance academic opportunities for children of all races has actually resulted in increased racial segregation. - MinnPost - Editorial: Take steps to protect 'irresistible workers'
Now comes Iowa's so-called "irresistible worker" case, where an all-male state Supreme Court recently upheld a district court's summary judgment that a male dentist's firing of a female dental hygienist did not constitute sexual discrimination under Iowa law. - Star Tribune - In Duluth, a campaign to reduce sex trafficking of young girls
DULUTH, Minn. — To raise awareness of girls being sold for sex and to honor survivors of sexual exploitation, Mayor Don Ness will sign a proclamation Wednesday declaring January as Trafficking Awareness Month. - MPR - Police enlist hotels in fight against sex trafficking
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The hospitality industry in Hennepin County is the latest frontline against child sex trafficking. - MPR - Duluth mayor to put focus on crime of human trafficking
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Mayor Don Ness will issue a proclamation Wednesday declaring the month Duluth Trafficking Awareness Month. - Duluth News Tribune - TCF Bank's closing of Iranian students' accounts is questioned
Amir-Pouyan Shiva is one of at least a dozen University of Minnesota students who received notice that TCF Bank will soon close their accounts. What do those students have in common? They're from Iran, studying in the United States with student visas. - Star Tribune - Same-sex marriage debate moves to the Capitol
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The hard-fought battle over same-sex marriage that dominated Minnesota politics last year is likely to continue in some fashion during the legislative session that begins Tuesday. - MPR - MN Revenue Commissioner talks tax reform with Twin Cities' business owners of color, state's high sales taxes at issue
On December 21, Revenue Commissioner Myron Frans held the second of two minority business tax forums at African Development Center in Minneapolis. - TC Daily Planet
December 2012
- Native Americans expected in Mankato to honor 38 Dakota men hanged in 1862 MANKATO, Minn. - About 150 Native Americans are expected in Mankato to honor the 38 Dakota men who were hanged in 1862. - Star Tribune
- Dakota War: 150th anniversary of mass execution leaves unhealed wounds
On the cold morning of Dec. 26, 1862, several thousand people gathered in the Minnesota frontier town of Mankato and watched as soldiers marched 38 Dakota men through the crowded streets. Hundreds more soldiers with bayonets were on hand to restrain potentially violent spectators bent on retribution. The condemned men were taken to a specially built platform where some sang and held hands as white hoods were pulled over their heads. - Pioneer Press - 'Irresistible' worker fired in Iowa: 'I don't think it's fair'
(CNN) - It may not be fair, but it's not illegal - not in Iowa. Melissa Nelson, a worker fired for being "irresistible" to her boss, spoke out Saturday about a high court decision that said her termination broke no discrimination law. - CNN - State: Today's teens healthier than those in 1990s, but racial gap detected
The health of teenagers in Minnesota has collectively improved since the 1990s, according to an analysis released Wednesday by state health officials. However, the analysis also found "a persistent wellness gap" between white teenagers and their counterparts among various people of color. - Star Tribune - More openly gay Minneapolis police officers means a change in culture
The increasing number of openly gay officers, especially those in leadership positions, has helped accelerate the evolution of attitudes inside the department. - MPR - How Minnesota's American-Indian students are doing in school
By several measures, American Indian students lag far behind their white counterparts in Minnesota schools, according to The National Indian Education Study published in 2012 by the National Center for Education Statistics. - MinnPost - Media justice activists develop racial equity pledge
Nearly 50 persons attended "A Gathering for Media Justice" held last weekend at Hamline University for community members and local non-mainstream media representatives. - Spokesman Recorder - Hope and fear in same-sex marriage cases at high court
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Same-sex marriage supporters see 41 reasons to fret over the Supreme Court's decision to take up the case of California's ban on same-sex unions. - MPR - 'Like lesser Americans': Atheists face discrimination, persecution, report says
GENEVA - Atheists and other religious skeptics suffer persecution or discrimination in many parts of the world and in at least seven countries can be executed if their beliefs become known, according to a report issued Monday. - NBC - Four decades ago, this gay couple sued for right to marry -- and the Supreme Court rejected them
When Jack Baker proposed to Michael McConnell that they join their lives together as a couple, in March 1967, McConnell accepted with a condition that was utterly radical for its time: that someday they would legally marry. - NBC - Dr. Josie Johnson honored
A lifetime of commitment and service was captured in one day when the Minnesota Dept. of Human Rights honored Dr. Josie Johnson with its Humanitarian Award. - Insight News - AP Interview: Dayton to push for domestic partner benefits in Minn. state worker contracts
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Gov. Mark Dayton says he plans to include same-sex domestic partner benefits in Minnesota's state employee contracts. - Star Tribune - Editorial: Twin Cities: Bringing method to our achievement-gap madness
In St. Paul and Minneapolis, about 500 programs are working -- separately, often -- to close the racial and economic gaps in student school performance. The programs and dollars, all well-intentioned, aren't moving the big needle: Our significant, persistent achievement gap remains among the nation's widest. - Pioneer Press - Minn. Dept. Of Human Rights Honors Minnesota Doctor, 82
The Department gave its Humanitarian Award to Dr. Josie Robinson Johnson. It's in appreciation of her character, commitment to equality, social justice, and human dignity. - CBS MN
November 2012
- Our view: Racial incidents mount; so must our opposition
The troubling, deeply disturbing incidents just keep coming. - Duluth News Tribune - Two black shoppers found to be victims of Twin Cities stores' discrimination
Two black shoppers detained by employees in separate stores in the Twin Cities were victims of racial discrimination, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced Thursday. - Star Tribune - Downtown restaurants under scrutiny over accommodations for disabled
Minnesota U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones announced Wednesday that his office is sending a detailed questionnaire this week to 12 restaurants on or near Nicollet Mall to determine whether they are wheelchair accessible or otherwise complying with federal law requiring accommodations for people with disabilities. - Star Tribune - States' Votes for Gay Marriage Are Timely, With Justices Ready to Weigh Cases
WASHINGTON — The victories for same-sex marriage on Tuesday, the first ones achieved at the ballot box rather than through courts or legislatures, are evidence of a remarkable shift in public opinion. They are also exceptionally timely data points for the Supreme Court. - NY Times - Wrongly Turning Away Ex-Offenders
The United States maintains a shortsighted and punitive set of laws, some of them dating back to Reconstruction, denying the vote to people who have committed felonies. They will bar about 5.85 million people from voting in this year's election. - NY Times - Major changes loom for Minn. election law if voter ID passes
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota voters will decide on Tuesday whether they want to use the state constitution to make significant changes in state election law. - MPR - Pastors endorse candidates to protest 1954 law
The Alliance Defending Freedom is seeking to force a court showdown over the constitutionality of the law, violation of which can cost churches their tax-exempt status. - US News - Gov. Mark Dayton: Send voter ID back to legislators
There are too many costs, too many questions. It needs more work. - Star Tribune - Huge questions dog Voter ID amendment
Since statehood, changes to Minnesota's election laws occurred only when a bipartisan majority agreed. The proposed amendment upends that history, given that it passed with only Republican support. - Grand Forks Herald - Commentary: Gay marriage would discriminate
A counterintuitive case against gay marriage. - Star Tribune
October 2012
- Study of Minneapolis homeless students reveals academic problems — and offers hope
A new, long-term study of Minneapolis school children demonstrates that homelessness and the stresses of moving from place to place several times a year means their learning suffers… Homeless children are disproportionately minority and the academic achievement gap is related to minority status as well. - MinnPost - AP poll: Majority harbor prejudice against blacks
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Racial attitudes have not improved in the four years since the United States elected its first black president, an Associated Press poll finds, as a slight majority of Americans now express prejudice toward blacks whether they recognize those feelings or not. - MPR - Marriage amendment opponents rally at U of M
MINNEAPOLIS — With eight days to go before the election, the campaign working to defeat the proposed marriage amendment rallied supporters in Minneapolis Monday evening to become the first state to defeat an amendment blocking same-sex marriage. - MPR - Voter fraud: Stuffing ballot boxes or the stuff of myth?
As decision day nears on the voter ID amendment, there's little agreement on whether fraud is a problem in Minnesota. - Star Tribune - Civil rights leader to appear at Guthrie
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Civil rights leader Julian Bond will appear at the Guthrie Theater next month to examine the political themes of the new play "Appomattox." - MPR - On Minnesota gay marriage vote, seniors a tough crowd
SHOREVIEW, Minn. — The word "homosexual" was rarely uttered in public when Louise Pardee was growing up, but now the 81-year-old is dialing up fellow Minnesota senior citizens trying to convince them gay relationships are nothing to fear. - NPR - Women Grads Earn 82 Cents on Dollar for Male Peers, One Year After College
The gender pay gap starts right away in a woman's career, with female college graduates earning 82 cents on the dollar that male peers earn, only one year out of college. - ABC News - Minn.'s Human Rights commissioner makes case against voter ID
WILLMAR - Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey has traveled to at least 15 different communities in the last few weeks to discuss the proposed voter identification constitutional amendment. - West Central Tribune - Voter ID: Like pulling on a thread
Commentary: Proponents can't explain away the trouble it would cause. - Star Tribune - Photo ID will make it harder on military voters
Commentary: The proposed new constitutional amendment would turn the clock back to those days where military voters would need to find someone to vouch for their identity by signing on their ballot as a witness or notary. - MPR - The deep roots of the marriage debate (interactive timeline) - MPR
- Minneapolis votes to stay in integration district
The Minneapolis school board voted unanimously Tuesday to stay in a west metro integration district, but only if the program agrees to changes. - Star Tribune - Nation's racial legacy shapes Minnesota's voter ID debate
Both sides campaign by laying claim to furthering Voting Rights Act. - Start Tribune - Four states deciding gay-marriage issues, in different ways
Minnesota is one of four states where voters next month will be asked to decide ballot questions related to same-sex marriage. This is the only state where voters will be asked to outlaw, not approve, gay marriage. - MinnPost - Black voters targeted in Minnesota's marriage amendment fight
Minnesota's black community is becoming the latest flashpoint in the battle over an amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, with the president of the national NAACP traveling to Minnesota Monday to urge black voters to reject the measure. - Star Tribune - NAACP president: Continue 20th century trend of expanding rights
Flanked by two dozen leaders of the Twin Cities African-American community, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous Monday said black Minnesotans have a number of reasons to vote down the proposal to amend the state's constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage. - MinnPost - Our view: Vote no on Minnesota marriage, voter ID amendments; wrong way to legislate
Constitutions are all about the structuring of government; they offer overall guiding principles and framework to help make sure our rulers don't trample on our personal rights and liberties. They're big-picture documents. - Duluth News Tribune - Human Rights boss speaks out against amendments
NEW ULM - Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey analyzed arguments for and against the Voter ID and Marriage Amendments and discussed why the debate over them matters for democracy Monday at the New Ulm Public Library. - New Ulm Journal - Editorial: Vote 'no' on marriage amendment
Denying something as basic as marriage to two committed adults has no place in a state's most important legal document. - Star Tribune - Fine print to be determined in Legislature if voter ID passes
ST. PAUL, Minn. — If Minnesota voters approve a constitutional amendment that would require voters to present photo identification at the polls, state lawmakers will still have to sort out many of the details needed to implement the new election system. - MPR - Voting Rights topic of NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet
Attendees at the Rochester NAACP Freedom Fund banquet Saturday were urged to fight against the proposed voter ID amendment to the Minnesota constitution. "Go out there and fight for the precious right to vote, and don't let anybody snatch it away," Minnesota 5th District DFL Rep. Keith Ellison told the banquet audience at the Rochester Marriott. -Rochester Post Bulletin - NY federal appeals court becomes 2nd in nation to strike down Defense of Marriage Act
NEW YORK - A divided federal appeals court in Manhattan struck down the Defense of Marriage Act Thursday as unconstitutional, joining an appeals court in Boston in rejecting the law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. - Star Tribune - 70,000 absentee ballots accepted in Minnesota, more coming
More than 100,000 Minnesota voters have requested absentee ballots this election year and 70,899 of those ballots have already been returned and accepted, the Secretary of State's office said Thursday. - Fox Twin Cities - A.C.L.U. Sues Morgan Stanley Over Mortgage Loans
The American Civil Liberties Union is accusing Morgan Stanley of fueling the production of risky, expensive loans that targeted African-American borrowers. - NY Times - 'Minnesota should vote no'
Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey speaks on Amendments Tuesday at WSU - Winona Daily News - Marriage vote: Family's love matters more than its form
What are we telling our children if our state designates one group of people as less entitled than others? A "no" vote is the best choice for Minnesota children. - Star Tribune - Marriage vote: For the children
Be grateful that the archbishop is defending society's cornerstone. - Star Tribune - Photo ID shouldn't be required to vote
An Oct. 5 commentary from former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman requires clarification, both in terms of his assessment of how our election system works and in his characterization of the opposition to the voter-restriction amendment. - Star Tribune - Keep it easy to vote by ensuring ballot integrity
Opponents of Minnesota's constitutional amendment to require a valid photo ID prior to voting are increasingly crying wolf rather than focusing on the facts. - Star Tribune - State's Human Rights Commissioner Visits Duluth
DULUTH - The state's human rights commissioner made a stop in Duluth Wednesday. He was in town to talk hot–button issues appearing on November's ballot. - Fox 21 - Shaping a State Constitution
Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey is voicing his concerns about what Minnesotans will vote on November 6th, amendments mandating a photo ID to vote, and a ban on same sex marriage. - MSNBC - Photo ID amendment: Fraud buster or expensive boondoggle?
Rep. Kiffmeyer and former Gov. Carlson differ on photo ID proposal. - Star Tribune - If Minnesota voter ID amendment passes, work on law's details remains
Passage of the voter ID constitutional amendment this fall would require Minnesotans to present a government-issued photo identification at the polls starting in 2013. But details on much of the rest -- what kind of ID, what happens if you don't have one, how much it would cost and who pays -- aren't clear. - Pioneer Press - Editorial: Defending a needed civil-rights principle
St. Paul case highlights proper use of 'disparate impact.' - Star Tribune - Guest column: Photo ID – A simple solution to voting problems
Commentary: Opponents of Photo ID claim there is "no problem." But, how could you possibly know that 2.8 million voters are who they say they are without a photo ID requirement? - Hometown Source - Are Voter ID Opponents Winning the Battle but Losing the War?
In recent months, courts have struck down voter identification laws in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Texas, heartening critics who feared the laws would turn away legitimate voters in November. - Pew States - St. Louis County auditor: Educate yourself on voter ID amendment - Duluth News Tribune
- Some black leaders say goal of voter ID requirement to suppress vote
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Many opponents of a proposed state constitutional amendment that would require voters to present photo identification at the polls say it unfairly deters minorities, the elderly and students from voting, and amounts to an effort aimed at suppressing support from traditionally Democratic constituencies. - MPR - Let's keep it a clean Constitution
The proposed amendments are at odds with its philosophical and practical purposes. Oct 2, 2012 Star Tribune - Star Tribune - Judge blocks Pa.'s tough new voter ID requirement from going into effect before Election Day - Star Tribune
- Race, gay marriage, voting rights on tap as new Supreme Court term opens
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court opened its new term Monday with a high-stakes dispute between businesses and human rights groups over accountability for foreign atrocities. The argument was the first in a term that holds the prospect for major rulings about affirmative action, gay marriage and voting rights. - Star Tribune - Supreme Court rejects anti same-sex marriage group's appeal
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from a national anti-gay marriage group that tried to thwart Maine's campaign disclosure law requiring it to release its donor list. - MPR - 'unSpinning' Mark Ritchie's Voter ID claims
Commentary: There is a much more reasonable interpretation of the amendment that does not require upending the current voting process. And based on conversations I've had with the chief authors of the amendment, the language is indeed not meant to radically change the current process. - MinnPost
