Environmental advocacy groups encourage Minnesotans to vote for amendment targeting green project financing

More than 100 environmental and conservation groups across the state are asking Minnesotans to vote “yes” on Minnesota Amendment 1.

The amendment, a constitutional amendment that allocates lottery money for environmental purposes, will be renewed for the first time in 25 years.

Since 1991, the system has generated more than a billion dollars in green projects such as land acquisition, construction of trails, and fish and wildlife habitats. Now voters must decide whether this will continue.

Hamline University Political Science Professor David Schultz says one of the biggest challenges this ballot issue may face is voters’ unfamiliarity with it. More than 50 percent “yes” votes are required for the amendment to be adopted. If the voter skips the question, it counts as a “no.”

“If you come and just vote for the president but don’t vote for the lottery saying, ‘I don’t want to deal with this,’ your decision not to vote counts as a ‘no,'” he said. in question.

If the lottery amendment does not pass, the fate of designated funds could be at the mercy of the state legislature.