Like any candidate, U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay wants your vote. But more importantly, he first wants to protect your right to vote at all.
That’s why Clay has assembled an impressive lineup for his Voting Rights Symposium to be held 9:30 a.m. Friday, March 16 at Harris-Stowe State University’s Emerson Center, 3026 Laclede Ave.
Clay will be joined by the Rev. Al Sharpton and a long list of elected officials and voting rights advocates, including U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (a Kinloch native) and U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus.
“I view this as a first step in voter protection for Missouri,” Clay said.
“We are launching a campaign against the constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot in November that will put restrictions on qualified voters, requiring them to show up at the polls with a state-issued photo ID.”
The Missouri ballot initiative is part of a national movement, led by Republican activists and legislators. A photo ID law effectively excludes many voting blocs – the elderly, college students, the disabled – whose vote skews Democratic.
“We need a statewide campaign telling the affected parties what’s wrong with this amendment,” Clay said.
“On the face of it, it sounds innocent – and it’s not. It would disenfranchise up to 350,000 Missourians, including senior citizens who no longer need a driver’s license, students who have college-issued photo IDs but not state-issued IDs, the disabled community, poor people.”
A Democrat who represents Missouri’s 1st Congressional District and is ranked (in a tie) for first as the most liberal vote in Congress, Clay sees mostly Democrats when he looks at the constituent groups disenfranchised by voter photo ID laws.
“Its intent seems to be non-partisan, but you can bet it’s really partisan,” Clay said.
“In Missouri in 2008, Barack Obama lost the state by only 3,600 votes. For those partisan types, that’s too close for comfort.”
‘What’s wrong, Russ?’
The voter ID initiative will be decided in November 2012, when President Obama stands for reelection, so it will not affect the outcome of that election. Nor will it affect what promises to be Clay’s most dramatic campaign, if the current congressional lines survive a legal challenge before the Missouri Supreme Court. The redistricting that emerged from the Missouri Legislature following the 2010 Census eliminated the version of the 3rd District that U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan represents. At the opening of filing last week, Carnahan filed in the 1st District represented by Clay and his father, Congressman Bill Clay, before him.
“Last Tuesday when I was standing in line to file for office, Russ had already filed and was coming back towards me in line,” Clay said.
“I stopped him, because I had just seen on my Blackberry a news alert that he had filed in the 1st. I asked, ‘What’s wrong, Russ? Couldn’t wait for the court to decide the case before you filed in this district?’”
Clay found Carnahan’s response underwhelming.
“His response was he had to get started sometime. I found that disappointing. With all the history our families have had, and it comes down to this.”
Of course, Carnahan also is the son of a political dynasty. His father Mel Carnahan was Missouri Governor and U.S. Senator, and his mother Jean Carnahan was U.S. Senator. Indeed, his sister Robin Carnahan is Missouri Secretary of State, the state’s top election official, and Clay and Carnahan were speaking in her office.
Clay said Carnahan’s 3rd District has been getting less and less winnable for a Democrat since Carnahan has held the seat in the wake of veteran Congressman Dick Gephardt’s retirement.
Clay said, “In 2001 when I negotiated the boundaries of the 3rd and 1st districts with Dick Gephardt, we were able to find enough Democrats to put in the 3rd District to give them an eight-point advantage. Russ managed to turn that eight-point advantage into two points, which is indicative of his under-performing.”
Congressman Clay’s Voting Rights Symposium is free and open to the public. Space is limited. Security procedures will be in place, so please arrive early. RSVP to steven.engelhardt@mail.house.gov or 314-383-5240. For further information, please visit www.lacyclay.house.gov.
