Voter ID proposals move forward in Missouri House

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Republicans' decade-long effort to add an ID requirement for voters won initial approval Wednesday in the Missouri House of Representatives.

In a voice vote, lawmakers finalized the language of a bill and a constitutional amendment aimed at requiring a photo ID to vote. The measures still need a final vote to pass the chamber, and the constitutional amendment would need voter approval. A Senate committee heard testimony this week on a similar bill and constitutional amendment.

House Republicans blocked attempts by Democrats to add more forms of acceptable photo IDs, to register people to vote automatically when they apply for driver's licenses, and to add the phrase "voter suppression" to the amendment's ballot language.

Lawmakers are pursuing a constitutional change because in 2006 the Missouri Supreme Court struck down a photo-ID requirement, saying such measures weren't narrowly tailored enough and were an undue burden on voters.

The proposals would require voters to present a photo ID issued by Missouri, the federal government or the military. Student IDs would not be acceptable. Voters currently may identify themselves with a utility bill, paycheck or ID from another state.

Republicans say election irregularities in St. Louis and Kansas City have undermined the integrity of Missouri's electoral system, and photo ID requirements would help combat voter fraud. Democrats contend the only voter fraud a photo-ID requirement would prevent -- voter impersonation fraud, in which someone casts a ballot under someone else's name -- is nonexistent in Missouri.

The Secretary of State's office estimates more than 200,000 voters lack a valid photo ID, and Democrats say disenfranchising those voters outweighs any potential benefits. Republicans say those estimates are inflated and outdated.

"We're not disenfranchising anyone," said Rep. Tony Dugger, the Hartville Republican who sponsored the proposed constitutional amendment.

The "vast, vast majority" of voters already carry photo IDs, said Rep. Bill Kidd, a Republican from Independence who voted for both measures in committee.

Republicans also say their proposals include safeguards against disenfranchisement: The state would pay for people to obtain IDs or the documents necessary for an ID, such as a birth certificate; if the state doesn't appropriate money to do that, the photo ID requirements wouldn't go into effect; and people without a photo ID still could cast a provisional ballot if they meet certain exemption requirements.

Democrats say provisional ballots are disenfranchisement by another name. "They put (your ballot) in an envelope, they seal it, you sign it, they put it in a box, and that's where it stays until they destroy it. It isn't going to be counted," said Rep. Joe Adams, D-University City.

Republicans said provisional ballots are no different from regular ballots, and still would be counted as long as the voter returns with photo ID within three days. Or, if a voter meets one of the bill's exceptions, the election authority could verify the voter's identity by matching the signature on the provisional ballot to the voter's registration form.

The constitutional amendment would appear on the ballot during November's general election, unless the governor calls a special election.