Jay Ashcroft stumps in Cape for voter-ID proposal

Republican secretary of state candidate Jay Ashcroft made a stop in Cape Girardeau on Wednesday as part of his statewide Voter Identification Tour.

The St. Louis lawyer is part of the group "Protect the Vote," which leads an effort to get the voter-ID issue on the 2016 ballot.

If successful, Missouri would join about a dozen other states that require voters to present a government-issued photo ID before casting a ballot. But Ashcroft and other supporters have plenty of work ahead before that can happen.

Current Secretary of State Jason Kander approved the voter-ID initiative petition for circulation in early July, and Ashcroft needs to collect 170,000 signatures. The signatures have to amount to at least 8 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election in six of the eight congressional districts. Ashcroft and supporters hope to gather 285,000 signatures, or about 36,000 signatures from each congressional district, but he said they need volunteers to help make that happen.

A common argument against voter ID is the requirement disenfranchises voters, particularly minorities, and make it harder to vote, Ashcroft said. He doesn't believe the requirement would be an issue.

"You need a photo ID for virtually everything you do," he said, pointing to banking and visits to the doctor or hospital as examples.

Ashcroft also said "every state that has implemented voter ID has made it easier to get a photo ID." Neighboring Kansas even created a system for voters to get free photo IDs, he said.

One of the few people attending when Ashcroft spoke at the Cape Girardeau Public Library questioned how the requirement would apply to the elderly and disabled. Other states set cutoff dates and do not require a photo ID for those over a certain age, he said, but it's too early to tell the exact path Missouri will take.

"When that statutory enactment is done, I don't know exactly what Missouri would do," Ashcroft said. "I can look at what other states have done and, generally speaking, states do similar things because you also have to make sure that it's constitutional with the United States Constitution."

He also said the last line of the proposed amendment says, "Exceptions to the identification requirement may also be provided for by general law."

Part of the reason behind Ashcroft's decision to push for an amendment is because of lack of action by the Missouri Legislature. As he's toured the state, he said he doesn't feel he's encountered any indifference or lack of interest in the issue.

"The response I get the most is, 'We don't require that?'" he said.

Information about the petition is available at ProtectTheVoteMO.com.

srinehart@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

711 N. Clark St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.