Minnesota Amendment 1

November 6, 2012
Minnesota Marriage Amendment
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 1,399,916 48.10% No 1,510,434 51.90% Valid votes 2,910,350 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 40,430 1.39% Total votes 2,910,350 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 76.42%
County results Precinct results State house district results Yes   90–100%   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60% No   90–100%   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60% Other   Tie   No data
Sources: [1][2]

Elections in Minnesota
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Federal elections Presidential elections 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 Dem 2004 Dem 2008 Dem Rep 2012 2016 Dem Rep 2020 Dem Rep 2024 Dem Rep LMN Senate elections Class 1 1858 1863 1869 1875 1881 1886 1892 1899 1901 (sp) 1905 1911 1916 1922 1928 1934 1940 1946 1952 1958 1964 1970 1976 1978 (sp) 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2012 2018 2024 Class 2 1858 1865 1871 (sp) 1871 1877 1881 (sp) 1883 1888 1895 1901 1907 1913 1918 1923 (sp) 1924 1930 1936 (sp) 1936 1942 (sp) 1942 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2018 (sp) 2020 2026 House of Representatives 1849 (Terr) 1850 (Terr) 1852 (Terr) 1854 (Terr) 1856 (Terr) 1857 1859 1860 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1929 5th sp 7th sp 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1977 7th sp 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 5th 6th 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 1st sp 2024 2026
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v t e

Minnesota Amendment 1 (also called Minnesota Marriage Amendment^[3] or Minnesota Gay Marriage Amendment^[4]) was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment proposed to ban marriage between same-sex couples in the state of Minnesota, that appeared on the ballot on November 6, 2012. It was rejected by 51.90% of voters.^[5]

On May 11, 2011, the Minnesota Senate passed a bill to place a proposed amendment to the state constitution on the ballot that would ban same-sex marriage. The vote was 37–27, with all Republicans and one Democrat voting for the amendment. An identical bill was passed by the House on May 21; the vote was 70–62 with two Democrats and all but four Republicans voting for the amendment.^[6] The proposed amendment was on the ballot on November 6, 2012.^[7] The proposed amendment read: "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota." It did not refer to civil unions or domestic partnerships.^[8] The question being presented to voters on the ballot read: "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota?"^[8]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2012)

In March 2012, Minnesota's Roman Catholic bishops had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, who told them that preserving the traditional definition of marriage was a priority. Roman Catholic Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis organized leaders of different religious denominations in support of the amendment and committed his own church to spend $650,000 on behalf of its passage. In September he joined other religious leaders in a demonstration in support of the amendment at the State Capitol.^[9] The Minnesota Catholic Conference Marriage Defense Fund contributed more than half the $1.2 million raised by Minnesota for Marriage, the principal organization supporting the amendment, including $130,000 from the Knights of Columbus, a national Catholic organization.^[10]

Immediately after the Minnesota legislature voted to put Amendment 1 on the ballot, Outfront Minnesota and Project 515, two groups working for LGBT rights in the state, formed Minnesotans United for All Families – the main campaign organization that would work to defeat the amendment. Over the course of a year and a half, Minnesotans United would raise and spend over $12 million, more than double the pro-amendment side.^[11] More importantly, the Minnesotans United campaign formed a coalition group of allies with almost 700 member organizations that included political parties, labor unions, veterans, civic groups and businesses like General Mills.^[12][13] The board and staff of the campaign reflected the same kind of diversity as its coalition partners and even included prominent Republicans.^[11] Drawing on lessons learned from past campaigns in other states, Minnesotans United did not cede the religious ground – it hired a faith director to reach out to communities of faith, and more than 100 of its coalition members were churches and other faith groups from around the state.^[14]

The centerpiece of the Minnesotans United for All Families campaign became its huge grassroots effort to have conversations with the voters about marriage. Rather than focus on equal rights and fairness, as was done in previous campaigns, Minnesotans United and its thousands of volunteers, had personal conversations over the phones and face to face about how marriage had the same importance and meaning for both straight and same-sex couples.^[14] This messaging strategy, which was also used in the campaign's ad campaign, helped move conflicted voters and resulted in Minnesota being the first state, after 30 attempts, to defeat a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.^[11] Minnesotans United is likely the biggest grassroots campaign in the state's history, having had 27,000 volunteers knock on over 400,000 doors and make over 900,000 phone calls in the final eight days of the campaign^[15]

The Minnesota arm of President Obama's presidential re-election campaign announced his opposition to this proposed constitutional amendment in April.^[16] Advertisements in opposition to the amendment also featured Minnesota Vikings football player Chris Kluwe.^[17]

Various public opinion surveys of Minnesota residents have asked questions regarding same-sex marriage. The questions vary, with some surveys referring directly to proposed Amendment and others asking more general questions.

Constitutional Amendment 1
Recognition of Marriage
Solely Between One Man and One Woman

Choice	Votes	%
No	1,510,366	51.90
Yes	1,399,675	48.10
Invalid or blank votes	40,398	1.37
Total votes	2,950,780	100.00
Source: [40]

• Recognition of same-sex unions in Minnesota
• LGBT rights in Minnesota
• Baker v. Nelson
• Maine Question 1, 2012
• Maryland Question 6
• Washington Referendum 74

• SF1308: Constitutional amendment to recognize marriage solely between one man and one woman
• Minnesotans United for All Families (opposition)
• Minnesota For Marriage Archived 2012-11-12 at the Wayback Machine (support)
• Who is funding the marriage amendment fight?, MinnPost
• MNopedia: Minnesota Amendment 1