KTVI-TV, ST. LOUIS
May 15, 2008
MO Legislature Takes On Voter ID & Immigration
Charles Jaco reports:
A lot of states are passing laws on illegal immigration. And a lot are considering voter ID laws.
But Missouri is the first state to combine the two issues.
This raises questions on everything from constitutional voting rights to political opportunism. The bill's supporters say it'll prevent vote fraud and keep illegals from voting.
Critics say there has never been a case of anyone trying to vote with a phony ID in Missouri.
Since 1875, the Missouri constitution has contained the following clause:
All elections shall be free and open. And no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.
By Friday night Missouri lawmakers could draft a proposal asking voters to change that one simple sentence. It would not only require you to show a photo ID when voting. It would require you show proof of U.S. citizenship with a passport or birth certificate, before you could even register to vote:
The Missouri Secretary of State's Office guesstimates that there are 240 thousand Missourians who could lose the right to vote because of a lack of photo ID thousands more might never be able to register to vote because they don't have birth certificates or passports.
And the whole idea of proving citizenship rolls the debate over illegal immigration in Missouri into the debate over voting.
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