The Right to Vote Does Not Deserve An “I O U”:

By Chris Moreno

The Right to Vote is the most precious right that anybody can have. By having this right, each Election Day, you are able to either approve or disapprove of an agenda or a candidate. Here in Missouri, when education is 500 million dollars short of funding, we have 800,000 without health insurance, in-state college tuition has risen 75 percent (making us the most expensive in the Midwest), prescription drugs have tripled, gas prices are out of this world and lobbyist corruption is running wild, the “Right to Vote” must be protected. However, with the Governor signing the voter restriction bill this week, some do not see it this way. So what does this legislation entail?

For starters, there will no longer be straight ticket voting. This means that you can no longer punch Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or any other party; you must now go through each candidate.

The newly signed law now also mandates that you must have a state issued, photo ID that must have your name, address and a valid expiration date on it. Failure to provide such identification at the poll means that you have to sign an affidavit and fill out a provisional ballot. However, if you were born after 1941, upon completing this, you must then return that same day with a valid state issued photo ID. If you do not, then your vote does not count. Your provisional ballot and affidavit signature, must then match your signature from when you registered to vote. For many, this means that your signature must be the same as it was years ago; otherwise your vote does not count. How many of your signatures are the same over time? In 2004, of the 8,000 provisional ballots cast in Missouri, only about 4,000 were counted as a vote. Another key fact is that if you show up to the wrong polling place, you no longer are allowed to vote with a provisional ballot.

Politicians that supported this legislation, including my opponent Will Kraus, claim that there are around 9 ID vans that will travel the state to give voters proper identification. However, there is not a single dollar allotted for these vans to act this election year. Not to mention, these vans will not be able to cover every single area. This is very important and here is why:

The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution clearly states that no voter shall be forced to pay in any way, in order to vote. With that said, will the state compensate those voters for the gas and mileage it takes to get to these van locations or license bureaus? Will they compensate voters for any time that must be taken off of work to do this? It is easy for a CEO to take a couple of hours off and to travel where they need to, but not as easy for a senior citizen or factory worker. These questions are important because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Harper vs. Virginia Board of Elections that a “voter’s wealth does not keep them from making an intelligent decision”, and that socio-economic status is covered under the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution; including the right to vote. Because of this, a state has very limited ability, if any, to restrict voting. So, if these vans only show up at specific times, in specific places that are not possible for every single voter to arrive at, then it is clearly unconstitutional. These are the very same reasons why the Georgia Supreme Court recently struck down an identical law.

Supporters claim that they passed this because they wanted to prevent voter fraud; even though in 2004, Missouri had over 1.4 million ballots cast, and of that, there were only 100 cases of voter fraud (.01 percent). However, this bill will keep almost 200,000 Missourians from voting; or 20 percent. If they want to prevent voter fraud, than how about mandating paper receipts for tracking electronic voting machines? Of course, the legislation failed to include that.
In the end, we as voters must ask why politicians would go to this level to prevent voting? Why would they pass this bill the last day of session at 2 a.m., using a rarely used tactic in Missouri history, in order to eliminate any debate and have it their way? Even if they wanted this to pass, why would they make it effective immediately this election? Why would they also eliminate the ability to vote straight ticket?

I think we the voters are smart enough to come up with the answers to these questions. However, even in a year when some politicians may face tough re-elections, no matter what political party a voter supports, the right to vote for every Missourian should be guaranteed. To me, this means the current leaderships “I O U” on a Missourian’s right to vote, is simply unacceptable.

Chris Moreno is the Democratic Candidate for State Representative in Missouri’s 48th District, currently elected to the Jackson County Democratic Committee, a member of the Raytown Democratic Association and Summit Democratic Club.