Austin residents — along with all Minnesotans — would have to present a photo ID before voting under a bill making its way through the Legislature.

The bill targets approximately 72,000 Minnesotans who don’t have photo identification, according to Rep. Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea. Its other goal is to cut down on voter fraud.

Under the bill, a voter could use a driver’s license, state ID card or student ID, as long as it contains a current address.

Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, is the bill’s chief sponsor. If the bill passes through both legislative bodies and is vetoed, Kiffmeyer said supporters will likely send it to a statewide vote in 2012.

“That is absolutely still an option,” Kiffmeyer said. Gov. Mark Dayton, while not directly threatening to veto, has raised concerns about the bill. Critics have openly feared it could make voting more difficult for senior citizens, college students and those who change addresses frequently.

County Auditor-Treasurer Doug Groh said these factors should not be a problem for those concerned with election fraud.

“I don’t believe it would disenfranchise anyone who is willing, proactive and concerned with voting,” he said. “It would not prevent anyone who would choose to or want to vote, from voting.”

Supporters of the bill say the photo ID requirement is needed to make voting more efficient and bolster public confidence in elections by reducing fraud. Under the legislation, the state would purchase electronic ID card readers for local governments and provide free photo IDs to those who can’t afford them.

Rep. Murray said the bill would bring integrity to the polls despite the ID card being a potential annoyance for some voters.

“It’s one little bother for a little while, but it brings integrity into our system,” he said. “Eighty-seven percent of the population believes we should have voter IDs.”

Groh is a supporter of the voter ID, although he opposes a portion of the bill allowing for provisional balloting. If a voter enters a polling place and does not have the proper identification, that person would be able to cast a provisional ballot and prove their identity to the Auditor-Treasurer’s office within five days after the election.

“That would be an added layer to our process,” Groh said.

The bill was approved in the House Transportation Committee on Monday, and could be up for vote by the full House and Senate as early as next week, Kiffmeyer said.

Bill sponsors have estimated it would cost about $2.7 million to implement, although critics contend it could be more expensive. Kiffmeyer is hoping the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office could at least in part use federal funds from the recent “Help America Vote Act” to cover those costs, though officials from that office said they would prefer to use that money on established purposes including maintenance of the statewide voter registration system.

“We’ve heard from Congress there will not be additional appropriations under this act, so this will be the end of that money,” said Beth Fraser, government relations director for the secretary of state’s office.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.