The recent passage of the Voter ID bill by the Missouri House speaks to the need for us to remain vigilant to guarantee that the voting rights of the past are not reduced in the future.
The recent bill was sponsored by state Senator Will Kraus, a Republican from Lee’s Summit. If it becomes law, it would no longer allow many Missouri citizens to use the methods of identification that have worked throughout Missouri’s history. Rather, the bill seeks to require voters to present a current Missouri Driver’s license, state identification, military ID or U.S. passport in order to vote in an election.
While on the surface this request may seem innocent, in reality more than 250,000 registered voters in Missouri do not have those forms of photo identification, according to Secretary of State Jason Kander’s office.
Many registered voters will be disenfranchised by the Voter ID requirements because of their status as senior citizens, college students, low-income citizens or minorities. The government-issued identification the Voter ID bill requires is often cumbersome for these populations due to, for instance, the unavailability of birth certificates for seniors, the fact that many college students often have out-of-state licenses, and the prohibitive cost for those of limited means to purchase the additional identifications that would be required by the new law and the time necessary to obtain the additional identification.
If this bill is passed, voters who come to the polls without the specifically required identification would be given a provisional ballot and only three days to return to the Board of Election with one of the newly approved forms of identification. Try digging up the necessary paperwork, finding time off work and getting a driver’s license in three days.
With the hurdles erected by the Voter ID bill in place, it is easy to see why many registered voters will be disenfranchised due to the extra hassle and cost that will be incorporated into exercising one’s right to vote.
Nationwide, many Voter ID laws are being put into effect prior to the 2016 presidential election. By disenfranchising voters, with all evidence showing voter fraud does not exist, these laws do nothing but decrease the reliability of elections.
One only needs to look to the events in Alabama after their Voter ID law was placed into effect to be wary of what might happen in Missouri. Following the passage of the Voter ID law in Alabama in 2011 and its implementation in 2014, 31 driver’s license offices were closed throughout the state. The office closures included eight out of the 10 counties with the highest share of non-white registered voters. So as you can see, once a Voter ID law is passed in Missouri, we may find ourselves on a slippery slope towards ever-increasing disenfranchisement in our home state.
The Voter ID bill has passed the House and is currently in discussion and up for a vote in the Missouri Senate. If the bill passes the Senate, it will be placed on the ballot for a vote from the general population. These efforts to prohibit registered voters from casting their ballots must be stopped. Together, we must work to ensure that our communities will not be disenfranchised in upcoming elections.
The only way to do that is to let our state senators know we oppose these measures designed to disenfranchise voters, and to vote against any such ballot measures. And as time goes on, we must remain vigilant if we want to keep our rights.
Michael P. McMillan is president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.
