Reply #29: MO: New Voter ID Requirement Means Seniors' Votes May Not Count [View All]

[EFerrari]

New Voter ID Requirement Means Seniors' Votes May Not Count

By Secretary of State Robin Carnahan

As Missouri's Secretary of State, it's my job to make sure our elections are fair and that Missouri voters have confidence their votes are counted. Recently, the Missouri State Senate passed a measure that may mean large numbers of Missouri seniors won't have their votes counted in this November's election.

Jefferson City, Mo. - infoZine - Supporters say the measure is necessary to prevent voter fraud, but we've not yet heard one actual instance in Missouri which this extra requirement would prevent. In fact, this bill won't really prevent election fraud or fix any of the types of problems we've seen in our elections. But, it will take away many seniors' right to vote and to have their votes count.

It's common sense for people to have to identify themselves when they vote. And, in Missouri we do just that. In fact, Missouri already has one of the strictest voter ID requirements in the country. Voters are already required to identify themselves at the polls with a driver's or non-driver's license for those who have it, a voter registration card, a university ID or another approved form of identification before being handed a ballot.

But, it defies common sense and is fundamentally unfair to rush into implementing a new voter ID requirement without letting voters know well in advance about the new rules and giving them a fair chance to comply before election day.



http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/14606/