Missouri’s new voter ID law goes into effect on June 1 and will not impact St. Louis city’s primary election on March 7 or the municipal elections on April 4, state political leaders today at a press conference held at St. Louis City Hall on Monday, March 6.
In November, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment that requires voters to present a government-issued photo ID at the election polls. Making for an odd collaboration, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, state Rep. Bruce Franks Jr. (D – St. Louis) and state Rep. Justin Alferman (R – Hermann) announced the launch of the public photo voter ID outreach program, Show It 2 Vote.
Franks fought adamantly against the law because he believes that it will keep many people – such as minorities, seniors, low-income or transient voters and students – away from the polls, he said. But now that voters approved it, he will fight hard to make sure residents in his district will not stay home on election day because they don’t have a government-issued ID.
“This is a great solution to a problem we don’t have,” Franks said. “But we have to move forward. It’s important that we now bridge the divide over this issue to ensure that all eligible, registered voters are able to vote. I encourage everyone to join us in the mission of spreading the word about Missouri’s new photo voter ID requirements.”
Ashcroft said that they don’t know if voter fraud is a widespread problem in Missouri because there’s never been an investigation. However, he said he supports the law and believes everyone will be able to obtain the required ID.
Alferman, the bill’s sponsor, said it will cost $1.4 million to meet the law’s requirements, which will largely go towards voter outreach. Another $200,000 will go towards giving out free non-driver IDs and paying for any fees that voters have to obtain certain documents. Alferman said he is confident that they will secure that money in the state budget, despite the governor’s proposed $146 million cuts to higher education.
When asked why he chose to champion an issue that had never been investigated or documented as a problem and that would cost the state more money when it’s lacking revenue currently, Alferman said, “Elections are of the upmost importance in our society and in our state. If even one fraudulent vote has been cast, it casts doubt on our entire process.”
The voter photo ID law provides several ways to cast a ballot, Ashcroft said. A voter may show a government-issued photo ID such as a driver license, non-driver license, passport or military ID.
Another option is to sign a statement and show one of the following: voter registration card, ID from a Missouri university, college, vocational or technical school, a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document showing the voter’s name and address.
Finally, a voter without a photo ID or any of the documents listed above may cast a provisional ballot. If the voter’s signature matches the signature in the voter registry, or if the voter returns to the polling place to show appropriate photo ID, the vote will be counted.
Catherine Stenger, vice president of the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis, said she was disappointed how poorly publicized the ShowIt2Vote launching was. One of their members saw a tweet on Friday and decided to come, but there should have been people from churches and other voter advocacy organizations present as well. Stenger, who is responsible for voter registration, said that the new requirements have the potential of disenfranchising people.
“Hearing about some new ID, that just might sound too hard for them,” Stenger said.
Because many women have changed their names, it could mean a full hunt to track down marriage documents that they don’t have on hand, Stenger said.
“For women, they might not want to go through looking through all that stuff,” Stenger said. “It is harder for some people to come up with those IDs than others. It will be hard for the homeless, women, the less-successful, the less-confident and lower socio-economic people.”
For more information about the law’s requirements, visit ShowIt2Vote.com. The ShowIt2Vote Help Line is available; call (866) 868-3245 for assistance.
