POLL: Rewording of Marriage Amendment Ballot Sparks Showdown

A new front has opened up in the Culture War over gay marriage: Republicans are up in arms after Secretary of State Mark Ritchie altered the ballot question concerning the Minnesota Marriage amendment.

The ballot question, which was written by Amendment supporters,  was originally titled as, "Recognition of marriage solely between one man and one woman." On Thursday, Ritchie told the press he was changing the title of the ballot question to read: "Limiting the status of marriage to opposite sex couples."

Last year, Gov. Mark Dayton put in a symbolic veto to the Amendment. Though his veto could not keep the question off the ballot, it did invalidate the title crafted by the Legislature. In this case, the Secretary of State is obligated to pick a title, Ritchie argued in a letter to Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.

The move immediately drew conservative ire, and threats of a lawsuit loom, the Star Tribune reports.

"We'll have to see if they can do that," said amendment sponsor Sen. Dan Hall, R-Burnsville. "I don't know why they are messing with it, but we have to try to stop them."

"It's unfortunate for the secretary of state to insert himself in a way to impact the outcome of the vote," said Sen. Dave Thompson, R-Lakeville.

Proponents of the Amendment say that the new wording, which includes the term "limiting," could scare off voters who object to government restrictions—in other words, some of their own base.

On the other side of the fence, opponents of the Amendment argue that the new title is more accurate.