Voter ID proposal would disenfranchise thousands

By Will Richardson

Throughout American history, misguided lawmakers have passed laws to prevent certain citizens from voting. This includes poll taxes, literacy tests, so-called vouchers of "good character" and other discriminatory measures.

Missouri lawmakers may revive the ugly practice of exclusion by entertaining proposals that seriously limit the ability of many of our state's poor, elderly and disabled citizens to vote. Proposals currently before the General Assembly would change the law so that you must have a picture identification card -- normally a driver's license or passport -- in order to vote.

So if you are the widow of a World War II veteran who spent your days raising seven children on a farm in Southeast Missouri and never learned to drive, you may no longer have the right to vote. If you are disabled and have never had a driver's license because of your disability, you may no longer be able to vote. If you are poor and unable to afford a driver's license, you may no longer have the right to vote. In Missouri, between 170,000 and 190,000 citizens, mostly our older adults and disabled people, do not have a driver's license. It is a given that most do not have a passport either.

People with disabilities who don't have a photo ID would be required to sign a waiver in order to vote until they can prove who they are -- even if they have been voters all of their lives. If adopted, voter ID proposals would discriminate in the most flagrant way against groups that are hard-pressed to take care of themselves from day to day let alone jump through hoops in order to secure rights they thought they were guaranteed by our Constitution.

These new voter ID proposals are an insult to the ideals of Democrats and Republicans alike and are certain to be challenged in the courts. It sets voting rights back decades to a time when politicians established barriers to prevent minority groups from voting. A similar law in Georgia has sparked bitter opposition and has resulted in costly legal action by advocates for the disabled, poor, and older adult communities.

Missouri lawmakers originally claimed that fraudulent voting motivates these proposals, but when confronted with the fact that in six years only five cases of fraud had been uncovered, they changed their story, claiming there was a "perception" in our state that fraud existed.

Voter ID proposals are not about eliminating fraud. They will prevent honest citizens from voting while doing nothing to curb those determined to cheat. Common sense will tell you that those determined to cheat can easily sidestep these provisions. In reality, these proposals are about fear on the part of lawmakers that certain groups may vote against them in the fall elections. It is no coincidence that the same poor, disabled and older adults targeted by these proposals suffered greatly from ill-conceived legislation that stripped them of health care last year and are not likely to favor those who passed it.

The governor and General Assembly grossly underestimated the negative public reaction to the poorly considered budget cuts in 2005 that affected the poor, disabled and older adult communities. After stripping these citizens of their health care, Missouri lawmakers are now intent on stripping them of their voice in government.

Will Richardson is the director of outreach and education for SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence in Cape Girardeau.