Secretary of State Robin Carnahan joined a group of Missouri voters today at the AARP Office in Kansas City, Mo., to discuss the possible disenfranchisement of up to 240,000 Missourians if a proposed government Photo ID requirement for voting is rushed through the Missouri legislature later today. Some of those voters present lacked the necessary government issued Photo ID that would be required to vote.“As Missouri's chief elections official, it's my job to ensure fair elections, and elections cannot be fair if eligible voters are not allowed to vote,” said Carnahan. “Many of the registered voters who do not have the type of government ID required also do not have copies of the documents needed to obtain a government ID in the first place – like a birth certificate. We know that getting copies of these can be costly, time consuming and sometimes impossible.”
Secretary Carnahan was joined by voters like Thomas Sweeny who is a World War II veteran. Mr. Sweeney, who was born in the mid-1920s, has not driven for the past several years and does not have a government issued photo ID. If this proposal were to become law, Mr. Sweeney would not be allowed to vote without a government issued photo ID.
In addition, Sister Corita Bussanmask of Operation Breakthrough in Kansas City was also there to express concerns because some of her fellow sisters and the mothers she works with could be affected. Reverend Rayfield Burns with Metropolitan Missionary Baptist and Reverend Spencer Barrett with Bethel AME also attended to express concerns with the proposal.
“It would be unacceptable for a voter to be denied the right to vote in America merely because an inefficient government bureaucracy can not provide a copy of a birth certificate to one of its citizens,” added Carnahan. “I urge the legislature to reject any proposal that could put the voting rights of up to 240,000 Missourians at risk.”
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