Protect Voting Rights in Missouri
Posted on May 04, 2012 by Amanda Beals
Cole County Circuit Court Judge Patricia S. Joyce has ruled that the ballot language of Missouri's proposed voter ID constitutional amendment was deceptive and misleading and must be taken off the ballot. However, there is already another effort to impose restrictive voter identification laws in Missouri.
Two bills recently introduced would limit acceptable IDs at the polls to non-expired Missouri or Federal photo IDs. They are moving in the Missouri Legislature. There are also multiple resolutions that, if passed, will put this issue on the ballot for voters to decide in November. If passed, those without ID would have to cast provisional ballots that would not count unless the voter returned to the election authority within 72 hours with the proper ID or can provide a signature matching the signature on their voter registration card.
This requirement would harm Missouri’s Election process and threaten our Democracy in several ways:
- It could disenfranchise over 250,000 eligible voters, the majority being seniors, people with disabilities, African Americans, the working poor, and students.
- It is expensive and could cost up to $20 million to implement
- It would severely limit the forms of acceptable IDs and would not include college ID, a driver’s license from another state, an expired ID, voter identification card or utility bills.
- It can be impossible and next to impossible for some people to pay for or even locate a certified copy of a birth certificate which is required to obtain current state ID.
- There exist no documented cases of voter fraud at the polls which would be prevented with photo ID, and therefore, absolutely no valid reason to support more stringent and discriminatory requirements for voter ID than those which are already in place.
Please join the Missouri Disability Vote Project in preventing proposed discriminatory voter legislation from becoming the law of the land in Missouri. We need advocates to share their stories and make their voice heard in this fight for our equal voting rights.
IF YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW, WOULD BE NEGATIVELY EFFECTED BY THESE PHOTO ID REGULATIONS, PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY WITH THE MISSOURI DISABILITY VOTE PROJECT.
Contact Amanda Beals
(314) 289-4301