Election

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ― For backers of a proposed constitutional amendment to raise money for outdoors and arts programs, the biggest challenge is to make sure people bother to vote on the question.

Voters who cast ballots in the presidential race and other high-profile contests but skip the other races and issues will, in effect, vote no on the amendment.

That's why Vote Yes Minnesota figures around 57 percent of the people who do vote on the amendment will need to vote yes to counter "the drop-off vote" and assure it will pass, said Ken Martin, the campaign manager.

The Clean Water, Wildlife, Cultural Heritage and Natural Areas Amendment would raise the sales tax by 3/8 of 1 percent. That would work out to about $60 a year for the average Minnesota family. Around 80 percent of the proceeds would be spent on clean water, wildlife habitat, parks and trails, while nearly 20 percent would support arts programs and cultural resources. It would generate an estimated $300 million a year in today's dollars, or around $11 billion over the next 25 years.

"I feel cautiously optimistic that the more people hear about this, the more likely they are to support it," Martin said.

Supporters like Dave Zentner are working hard to make sure people hear about it. To the 72-year-old Duluth man, the outdoors defines what Minnesota is all about.

"This is a statement about what we in our state value," Zentner said. "This is a statement about who we are and what's important to us."

Zentner spoke from his pickup truck, which is emblazoned with bright orange "Sportsmen Vote Yes" signs, as he worked the crowd gathered last Thursday outside a Gander Mountain store in Duluth for an appearance by outdoorsman Todd Palin, husband of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Zentner is a co-founder of the Duck Rally, a coalition of hunting, fishing, environmental and conservation groups pushing the plan.

The Minnesota Taxpayers League and the affiliated No Sales Tax Increase campaign, chaired by former Sen. Rod Grams, are leading the charge against the amendment. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Farm Bureau also oppose it.

Two statewide polls released around the beginning of the month showed that both sides have some hard work ahead.

A Minnesota Public Radio/Humphrey Institute poll showed that 46 percent of likely voters supported the proposal. But 36 percent opposed it and 9 percent said they didn't plan to vote on the question, for a combined 45 percent. A Star Tribune Minnesota Poll showed stronger support -- 59 percent planned to vote yes -- even though 89 percent had heard "only a little" to "nothing at all" about what the amendment would do.

Vote Yes Minnesota is counting on the more than 350 environmental, hunting and fishing, and cultural groups that have joined the coalition get their members and supporters to vote yes, Martin said. It's also running television, radio and newspaper ads, and is hoping to raise $5 million.

Phil Krinkie, president of the Taxpayers League, acknowledged they're way outgunned, but they recently started running their own ads as well.

"We're spending in the tens of thousands, not in the hundreds of thousands, let alone millions of dollars," Krinkie said.

Krinkie said their strategy is to make sure voters know they'd be voting to raise their own taxes at a time when many of them are struggling to make ends meet.

Vote Yes Minnesota says the amendment is needed because the Legislature has failed to provide enough funding for conservation -- it gets less than 1 percent of the state budget -- and it expects that natural resources programs are likely to get further squeezed in the future.

But Krinkie and other opponents contend it's bad public policy to do an end run around the Legislature and bypass the normal appropriations process, where spending on outdoors and arts programs would be balanced against the needs of education, health care, transportation and public safety.

Using a constitutional amendment to create this dedicated funding source would also open a "Pandora's box" for other special interests that would want dedicated pots money for their own pet causes, he said.

In a perfect world, Martin said, the Legislature would adequately fund outdoors programs on its own. This amendment is the next-best solution, he said.

"We can't let the perfect get in the way of the good," he said.

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