Area election officials support voter photo ID legislation

Area election officials favor legislation aimed at requiring government-issued photo identification to vote. But they maintain they already do a good job of policing voter-registration rolls under current state law.

Perry County Clerk Jared Kutz pointed out, "People already have to present an acceptable form of ID."

Acceptable IDs include voter cards issued by county clerks' offices and Missouri drivers' licenses as well as IDs provided by the U.S. government and colleges. Voters also may present a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or other government document that contains their name and address.

According to the Missouri secretary of state's website, a person who doesn't bring any documentation to the polls still may vote if two supervising election judges, one from each major political party, attest they know that individual.

"At the end of the day, I honestly don't know anyone who doesn't have a photo ID," Kutz said.

Lawmakers are considering two bills. One would ask voters to amend the Missouri Constitution to allow photo ID requirements; the other would establish a legal framework to implement such requirements.

The Republican-led Missouri House wants to put the issue before voters because the Missouri Supreme Court struck down a similar ID law in 2006. The judges ruled the measure violated state residents' constitutional right to vote.

Kutz said it all comes down to "what will pass constitutional muster." He added the issue ultimately could end up in federal court.

The bills' sponsors say Missouri needs tighter voting laws to stop any possibility of fraudulent voting. Opponents contend such a law disproportionately would affect minority voters and prevent such voters from casting ballots.

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers said all voters should be given an opportunity to obtain a proper photo ID.

"We don't want to disenfranchise anybody's right to vote," she said.

She added she knows there are registered voters in Cape Girardeau County who don't have driver's licenses or other photo IDs.

"My main concern is to make sure that everybody in our county gets the opportunity to vote," she said.

But Summers, Kutz and Bollinger County Clerk Brittany Hovis said they believe voter fraud is not a big problem in their counties.

Still, Hovis said taking the issue to the voters is "not a bad idea." She noted under current law, it would be possible for someone to use another individual's voter ID cards or other non-photo identification to cast a ballot.

In rural counties such as Perry and Bollinger, that is less likely, however, because election judges often know all the voters in their precincts, Hovis and Kutz said.

Perry County has slightly more than 12,000 registered voters; Bollinger County has about 8,000 voters.

Identifying those casting ballots is a larger task in Cape Girardeau County, which has 51,000 registered voters.

Summers said requiring photo IDs to vote is a good idea because it provides "an extra layer of protection" against voter fraud.

"I am all for more layers of protection and protecting the integrity of elections," she said.

Summers, Kutz and Hovis noted their offices canvass voter rolls every two years as required by law.

"You would be surprised how many people move," Summers said.

Kutz's office has begun sending out new voter ID cards. Bollinger County voters recently received their new cards, while Cape Girardeau County is preparing to mail out new voter cards.

But Hovis said many voters in her county routinely present their drivers' licenses at polling places rather than their voter cards, which they may have lost or misplaced.

The voter cards don't include photos. Adding photos to the cards would be "logistically impossible," Kutz said.

Still, all three county clerks favor retaining the voter ID cards, noting the small cards contain more than voters' names and addresses. The card includes the voter's precinct, council ward, appropriate taxing districts, county commission district and state legislative district.

If Missouri adopts a photo ID law, the majority of voters in Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties should have little difficulty meeting the requirements, the county clerks said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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