Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft says he feels confident his office will get $1.4 million to carry out the state’s new photo ID requirement to vote. Ashcroft says the legislature and governor agree with that figure.
Governor Greitens’s proposed spending plan that begins in July originally included $100,000 to apply to the voter ID law.
“We didn’t look at other numbers for it. We didn’t look at what other people had said you need,” says Ashcroft. “We looked at the law and said what does the law require, what do we think the spirit of the law is saying?”
Under the law approved by Missouri voters last year, a government-issued photo ID and supporting documentation, like a birth certificate would be paid for by the state. Those without a photo ID could still vote if they sign a waiver and show a utility bill or paycheck.
Ashcroft says his budget request includes fulfilling the law’s requirements and advertising to educate the public about voter requirements.
“We’ve been told that we’ll get it (the funding). Obviously there’s a little bit of pushback just to make sure it’s what we need, but that’s what you would expect,” says Ashcroft. “Wouldn’t you want the legislature, when the Secretary of State comes in and says this is what I need saying ‘Do you really need that or are you just trying to inflate your budget?’ Don’t you want a governor that’s saying ‘Do you really need that?’”
Ashcroft says the first elections under the new law will be in August.
