MOTOR-VOTER SIGNUPS PRODUCE POOR RESULTS AT THE POLLS

The idea of incorporating as many Missourians as possible into the process of government and self-determination sounds good. That was the intent, at least in part, of the so-called motor-voter law that went into effect Jan. 1.

Under the motor-voter law, state agencies such as employment offices, welfare offices and license bureaus are encouraged to make sure every person who uses their services are registered to vote.

Presumably, the voter rolls would be swelled by people who, in what has become a mobile society, get left out of the government process.

But in reality the motor-voter law is doing little more than creating a pool of potential voters who are dependent on state services, particularly welfare and other social programs. These voters, some political observers think, could in turn prove to be a valuable asset when it comes to preserving the status quo or even expanding the money spent on them.

It was really no surprise, then, to discover that voters who are being registered under the motor-voter law aren't the least bit interested in voting.

Statistics compiled from the April elections in Cape Girardeau County, for example, show that only 11 of the 600 individuals who have been registered under the motor-voter law's provisions actually went to the polls.

Results from two nearby counties, Scott and Perry, were no better.

Voting participation in general is nothing to brag about. Only 18.5 percent of Missouri's 2.9 million registered voters made choices in the April elections. That is a pretty miserable turnout for elections that, in most parts of the state, chose city and school elected officials.

But 18.5 percent is certainly better than the 1.8 percent turnout of Cape Girardeau County voters who were registered under the motor-voter law. And it is obvious the motor-voter law didn't create anything resembling a big gain in voting results around the state.

In Cape Girardeau County, there was reason to expect a fairly good turnout, particularly in the Cape Girardeau school district where there was a highly publicized race to fill two vacancies. Apparently even that wasn't enough to attract the voters registered because of the motor-voter law.

Voters who take their responsibility seriously may well question whether the ballot process is enhanced by efforts to get uninterested and uninformed voters into the voting booth. If there is a genuine need for gimmicks to get voters to the polls, there must be something terribly wrong with a system that has stood this country in good stead for more than 200 years.