Op-Ed Misses the Point on Photo ID

In an op-ed piece in today’s Columbia Missourian, Boone Co. resident J. Karl Miller overlooked several key caveats and problems encountered in HJR 9.  Our response to his statements and misguided logic are as follows: 

First, Mr. Miller claims that requiring government issued photo IDs to vote is an inevitable national trend and that Missouri will HAVE to reform its current common sense voter ID law.  Currently, there are no indications that the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) or the Department of Justice (DOJ), two federal agencies charged with overseeing election administration and with enforcement of federal election requirements, are pushing for restrictive government-issued IDs to vote.  Rather, elections have historically been run at the local level and there is no reason that we see should change the system to make it a top down, state driven system. 

Second, Mr. Miller remarks that student IDs and out of state driver’s licenses should be acceptable as forms of photo ID.  We totally agree with Mr. Miller but UNFORTUNTATELY these forms of ID would NOT be acceptable if HJR 9 passed.  Rather, non-expired driver’s licenses, non-driver’s licenses, military IDs and passports would be voters’ ONLY options. 

Third, Mr. Miller’s logic that 230,000 voters not having driver’s licenses shouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things is flawed.  Elections are won and lost in Missouri by increasingly tight margins.  The presidential race in Missouri was won by less than 3,000 votes statewide!  Two state legislative races were tight enough in 2008 that the victory margins were under 100 votes and recounts were called.  Trying to say that 230,000 voters is only 6% of the voting population and doesn’t matter because 30% of Missourians didn’t go to the polls in Missouri is flawed and won’t hold up in the courts.

Fourth, Mr. Miller is a retired Marine AND disabled voter.  He and all other active duty and retired military voters should be made aware that HJR 9 chisels away at their voting rights.  HJR 9 eliminates the state’s permanent absentee service AND eliminates the ability for county clerks and boards to get over 10,000 Missourians in uniform ballots via email and fax.  For Missourians who are fighting for democracy in the Middle East and beyond it would be a cruel move to make their vote inaccessible. 

Finally, the act of voting is not a privilege, it is a RIGHT.  Creating barriers to voting for voters regardless of their political leanings because they aren’t fortunate enough to have a certified copy of their birth certificate or because they don’t drive is WRONG and according to our current state constitution, it is ILLEGAL.  This is not about partisanship, it is about democracy.