Last week Secretary of State Robin Carnahan released a list of approximately 240,000 registered voters – count ‘em: 240,000 – who may not have the photo IDs they will need to vote in November.
Her office came up with the list by electronically comparing the state’s voter registration database with the Department of Revenue’s driver’s and non-driver’s license database. Carnahan will make the mailing list available to elected officials, businesses and other organizations, as requested. The office has also set up a web site at www.MoVoterID.com and a toll-free number (888-488-VOTE) to answer questions regarding the photo ID requirements.
Carnahan said her office will mail information about the new law directly to each of these 240,000 Missouri residents. A quarter of a million stamps – that’s a lot of postage. Yet Governor Matt Blunt did not appropriate her office (which he previously managed, or mismanaged) any additional funds to comply with the law, which requires the secretary of state to publicize the changes the law makes in voting eligibility. Unfunded mandate, anyone?