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House sends voter photo ID bill, proposed constitutional amendment to Senate

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The state House has passed legislation aimed at requiring voters in Missouri to have photo identification to vote.

With party-line votes the House approved a proposed change to Missouri’s Constitution (HJR 47) necessary to allow the photo ID bill to become law, along with the bill (HB 1073). The proposed amendment would go to voters in November. If voters reject that issue the bill would become null.  The measures were sponsored by Representatives Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) and Tony Dugger (R-Hartville), respectively.

Both items now go to the Senate for consideration.

The bill would require a person wishing to vote display to election officials a valid Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license, military identification or any unexpired ID that is issued by the United States or Missouri that has that voter’s photo and signature.

Republicans say the bill is needed to prevent voting fraud. Democrats argue the legislation is intended to keep certain populations from voting.

See earlier stories on this issue.

House gives initial approval to voter photo ID

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The state House has given initial approval to legislation aimed at requiring voters in Missouri to have photo identification at the polls on election day.

Representative Tony Dugger (R-Hartville) and Representative Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) offer the voter photo ID bill and the proposed constitutional amendment that would allow it to become law, respectively. (photos courtesy, Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Tony Dugger (R-Hartville) and Representative Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) offer the voter photo ID bill and the proposed constitutional amendment that would allow it to become law, respectively. (photos courtesy, Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

One piece is a proposed change to the state Constitution that would allow the other piece, the voter photo ID bill, to become law. The legislature passed such a requirement several years ago but it was ruled unconstitutional, which is why supporters want to now change the Constitution to allow it to become law. The fact that such a change would be necessary is one of the arguments made by opponents against its passage.

Representative Chris Kelly (D-Columbia) told a Republican supporter of the legislation it is based on false arguments.

“The real purpose of this is to keep older black women from voting, but your purpose is to cure voter impersonation fraud.”

As Democrats have done in years past, Kelly challenged Republicans to provide evidence of at least one case of voter identification fraud having happened in Missouri. They did not offer such evidence.

Democrats argue that many older black women for various reasons might not be able to obtain the source documents needed for them to acquire photo IDs.

Representative Kevin Engler (R-Farmington) says that argument is insulting to such women.

Engler tells a fellow Republican, “For these districts’ [representatives] in urban and the St. Louis area to say their women are too dumb … they can’t get IDs, ‘They’re smart enough to decide whether to have an abortion or not. We want them to have that decision, but they’re not smart enough to get an ID.’ How callous is that?”

Another favorable vote will send the voter photo ID proposals to the Senate. The proposed constitutional change would require voter approval if it clears the legislature.

The legislation is HB 1073 and the proposed constitutional amendment is HJR 47.

Early voting recommendations filed by House republican

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A House Republican has filed the early voting proposals recommended by a commission created by the Democrat Secretary of State.

Representative Myron Neth (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Myron Neth (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

The bill is proposed by Representative Myron Neth (R-Liberty), who is the vice-chairman of the House Elections Committee. It would allow no-excuse absentee balloting, early voting at a central polling place, satellite voting in Presidential elections and would make early voting lists confidential. Those are the reforms identified earlier this year by the Secretary of State’s bipartisan Early Voting Commission.

Neth says to him these ideas are about making voting more accessible.

“The whole early voting thing … I think that just needs to be kept in our minds, of something that we could change to make it better.”

Neth says he wanted to at least have a discussion, but he doesn’t expect there is much chance his proposal will advance this session.

“The priority of our caucus is photo I.D. Now, if something could help that along, and early voting might be that, we might pull it in the mix. If that’s not the case, the chances of it getting much traction in the caucus is probably slim at this point.”

The House has already passed a voter photo identification bill and proposed constitutional amendment to the Senate.

Opponents of early voting say it creates more opportunities for voter fraud. Neth says the provisions in his bill, in some ways, actually strengthen the security of the voting system.

“It’s going to be the same kind of process as if you were going to go at a polling place, with sattelite locations or whatever.” He adds, “To me, you might I think you might actually have less absentee voting, which I think sometimes with mail-in ballots, absentee, that kind of thing, sometimes I think you have more opportunity for fraud … whereas this case where you open it up to where there’s more time for people to vote, and if they have to come and if we can get photo I.D. done, then they’ve got to show that photo I.D. when they vote.”

Some opponents also argue that early voting tends to favor one party over another, but Neth says he hasn’t seen that in his experience.

“Maybe there’s some anacdotal evidence or other evidence out there to show that. For me, personally and for how I’ve seen people and how people have absentee voted before, I don’t think it skews one way or the other.”

Secretary of State Jason Kander says having a Republican support his measure demonstates that there is bipartisan support for it.

“I’ve not talked to any legislators who say that they are against early voting. It’s an issue that has passed the legislature before and we felt like we needed to give it a fresh look and a fresh push forwrard.”

One lawmaker who does say he generally opposes early voting is House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka).

“We have an election day in this country for a reason and I don’t want to dilute the importance of election day with some kind of aggresive early voting procedure … people are going to have to prove to me why they need early voting. We have a very, I think, easily accessible absentee voting system that I have never found to be a problem if I have a problem voting on voting day.”

As for whether Republican support for early voting could sway Kander on the issue of voter photo I.D., Kander says he won’t support the proposal passed this year by the House. He says it disenfranchises many Missourians, particularly among the elderly and minorities. He thinks that proposal, if it clears the legislature and the governor, will be thrown out by the courts.

House sends voter photo ID bill and proposed constitutional change to Senate

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The state House of Representatives has passed legislation laying out the framework for voter photo ID and a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow it to become law.

Representative Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) sponsored the proposed change to the state Constitution to allow for voter photo ID.

Representative Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) sponsored the proposed change to the state Constitution to allow for voter photo ID.

The legislation passed 105-48 and the proposed amendment 107-46.

The amendment would go to voters if approved by the Senate. House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) is asked whether he is concerned that the legislation didn’t receive a total of “yes” votes as high as it would need to be to overturn a veto by the Governor.

“I think on this particular issue, you saw several of our members were not here today due to various other commitments and things going on with family. I’m pretty confident those missing members will vote in favor of the bill. I think the enabling legislation is one that we will be willing to challenge the Governor on.”

Part of the debate on Thursday followed up on an eye-opening statement from Wednesday night, when Representative Chris Kelly (D-Columbia) said, “Jim Crow is alive in this room today This is the single most immoral act that I’ve ever seen happen in my time in the general assembly.”

Representative Nick Marshall (R-Parkville) asked Kelly to explain his statement and said it implicated supporters of the voter photo ID amendment of having racist motives.

Kelly said he made the statement because of the effect of the proposals if they pass.

“Who is affected most seriously by this bill, and who votes Democratic like troopers? Poor black women. The effect of the bill is indisputably racial. I don’t say the motive is racial.”

Kelly said the backers of the bill have not proven that voter fraud is a problem.

“I encourage you that when you bring profound legislation to the floor of this body that you have some intellectual basis for it other than anecdotal fairy tales.”

The legislative black caucus has said it will do everything it can to block voter photo ID in the Senate, including the suggestion of a filibuster if it reaches the Senate floor.

House Committee approves voter photo ID proposal (AUDIO)

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The House Elections Committee has advanced a proposed law to require photo identification to vote.

Representative Stacey Newman (left) inquires Representative Stanley Cox (right) about his voter photo ID proposal.

Representative Stacey Newman (left) inquires Representative Stanley Cox (right) about his voter photo ID proposal.

Opponents of the measure often ask why it would be necessary, saying no instances of voter fraud at the polls has been recorded in Missouri. Its sponsor, Representative Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia), says that doesn’t mean people aren’t getting away with it.

“My position is it’s clearly an issue, because if you’re not going to cheat on election day, why do you do all of this other fraud of registration fraud, which is extremely commonly proved and exists … so when we know that people are doing that, there must be a reason. People do things for a logical reason. They do it to cast an illegal vote.”

Representative Stacey Newman (D-St. Louis County) says requiring a photo ID to vote is unconstitutional and would disenfranchise certain voting groups.

She asks Cox during the committee hearing, “If there is one person in the state of Missouri who is legally qualified to vote and could no longer vote because of this bill, is this bill justified?”

Cox maintains, “It won’t happen.”

The bill is tied to a proposed constitutional amendment which must be passed first by the legislature, then voters, in order for the bill to take effect.  It must go through the House rules committee before reaching the full chamber for debate.

AUDIO:  Representative Stacey Newman inquires Representative Stanley Cox on HB 216, 14:24

House Committee hears voter photo ID proposal

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The House Elections Committee has heard more than two hours of testimony against legislation to require Missouri voters to show photo identification at the polls.

Representative Tony Dugger presents his voter photo ID bill to the House Elections Committee. (Photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications.)

Representative Tony Dugger presents his voter photo ID bill to the House Elections Committee. (Photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications.)

The bill, House Bill 48, is accompanied by a proposed constitutional change, HJR5 that would allow the bill to become law after the Supreme Court declared a 2006 photo ID law unconstitutional. That means if the proposal clears the legislature it would go before Missouri voters.

The sponsor of both proposals, Rep. Tony Dugger (R-Hartville) says he files the legislation out of concern for the potential for fraud.

“In the 14 years that I was county clerk, every time that you would mail these voter ID cards out, I would get someone who would come into my office and bring me some cards and say, ‘These got delivered to my mailbox. I have no idea who they are,'” he says. “They don’t know who they are but their cards ended up in their mailbox, and it happens in every election. There’s just that chance out there that somebody could take that card, and that’s a form of ID that could currently be used … and vote with it.”

Dugger says there is no reason for someone to commit voter registration fraud if they don’t intend to commit voter fraud.  His bill would allow anyone who can not produce proper ID at a polling place to cast a provisional ballot. Secretary of State spokesman John Scott says that’s not good enough.

“In the 2012 election on ly 25 percent of provisional ballots were counted, so to say that you aren’t disenfranchising eligible Missourians because you will offer a provisional ballot doesn’t necessarily line up with the facts,” Scott says.

Rep. Stacey Newman (D-St. Louis) says she believes Scott’s bill was written by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization known for writing model legislation.

She told Dugger, “If this had some merit, I don’t understand why some of your own party colleagues are now saying, after the November election, that this was designed to prevent people from voting.”

Rep. Brandon Ellington (D-Kansas City) testified against the bill, saying this measure and bills like it in other states have been filed in response to the election of President Barack Obama.

“We’ve seen these new, restrictive laws after 2008, which in my opinion shows a biasness [sic] in American society when we have a president of color and all of a sudden we’re questioning the legitimacy of people’s votes,” he says. “We never questioned the legitimacy of people’s votes in 2000 when Florida had they’re imbalances in they’re voting procedures, but all of a sudden we want to have these restrictive voter ID laws.”

Rep. Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) said he was “perplexed” by Ellington’s testimony.

“I have never seen a state representative come to a committee … accuse the proponent of this bill of essentially racism,” Cox says.

Cox told Ellington he owed Dugger an apology.

Opponents of photo voter ID in Missouri say it would disenfranchise 250,00 people. Cox says that number is misleading.

He asked Scott, “Is it recognized that our voter rolls are hyper inflated with people that don’t exist, throughout our state? Dead people … there are at least four counties in this state that have more registered voters than people live in those counties, is that correct?”

Scott disagreed, to which Cox added, “OK, and so to match those figures is a meaningless fact.”

No one testified to the committee in favor of the two proposals. The committee has not voted on them.

Voter ID bill to seek perfection in House this week (AUDIO)

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Majority Floor Leader Tim Jones (R-Eureka) says he will bring legislation requiring photo identification for voters up for perfection again this week in the Missouri House of Representatives. The bill was debated for less than a half-an-hour on Wednesday.

Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller presents HB 1104 on the House Floor. Photos courtesy of Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications.

Its sponsor, Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller (R-Willard) presented the bill by citing media reports of instances of voter fraud in Missouri since 2006. He told lawmakers his bill will provide photo IDs to qualified Missourians for free, and offers provisional ballots to those who show up to vote without one.

He says there are many places photo identification is required today, including at banks. “The reason why is that you want to be able to protect people’s money. Well, the same thing when we go to vote.”

Assistant Minority Floor Leader Tishaura Jones (D-St. Louis) rejects that argument, noting that going to the bank is “not a constitutional right. Voting is a consitutional right.”

Jones added that the bill is unconstitutional under a 2006 ruling by the state Supreme Court that the legislature can not impose additional requirements on the right to vote. She says for the legislation to pass now would be for lawmakers to get ahead of themselves. “Last year we approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would grant lawmakers the authority to impose a photo voter ID requirement, but that amendment won’t go on the ballot until November. Until and unless voters ratify a constitutional change, it’s premature for us to pass legislation exercizing authority that we don’t posess. 

Representative Jason Kander (D-Kansas City) opposes the voter photo ID bill on the House floor.

Representative Jason Kander (D-Kansas City) was questioned by two House Republicans during debate, who cited his candidacy for the Secretary of State’s Office and said he should support it. Kander opposes the bill, stating it would disenfranchise close to 230,000 Missourians.

He was first inquired by Representative Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff)…
 

AUDIO:  Representatives Todd Richardson and Jason Kander during floor debate of HB 1104 (:18)

Representative Caleb Jones (R-California) first asked Schoeller to explain the bill’s provisions and rather it would disenfranchise voters. Maintaining that it would not, Jones then turned his attention to Kander…

AUDIO:  Representatives Caleb Jones and Jason Kander during floor debate of HB 1104 (:15)

View details of HB 1104, the voter photo ID bill.

AUDIO:  Listen to the debate of HB 1104 on the House floor from Wednesday. (25:21)

 

Voter Photo ID to Return

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Backers of the voter photo-ID bill passed by the legislature last year and thrown out by the courts say they’ll have a new proposal this year. The state supreme court threw out last year’s law because it put an undue burden on voters who had to round up adequate documents to prove their identity before they could get an identity card. Backers had argued the law was needed to eliminate voter fraud. But the court said in its ruling there had been only one instance of POSSIBLE fraud since 2002 and it might have been a mistake, and an action the law would not have covered anyway. State Senator Delbert Scott of Lowry City sponsored last year’s bill and says he’s working on something for 2007. This year’s bill won’t affect elections until 2008, unlike last year’s bill which went into effect on August 28th and would have required picture identification for the November election. He says it will be interesting to see who the opponents are and what the opposition is. County clerks and the Democratic party were the biggest opponents last year, complaining the requirement was going into effect too soon. Scott says finding a way for the state to pay the costs of obtaining the supporting documents is a key issue. He also says the bill should be broadened to attack registration fraud. He says St. Louis and Kansas City saw huge registration fraud that caused massive operations problems for election authorities in both cities. Scott has given no timetable for the introduction of his new proposal.

MIx-Up with Provisional Ballot Could Confuse Voters

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Voters might be mixed up about terms for the provisional ballot. That’s because the overturned photo I-D law tried to change it. Under the law, the provisional ballot was tied to voter identification. Voters without the proper form of photo I.D. could cast a provisional ballot and return later with the proper I.D. to verify their votes. Spokesman Stacie Temple with Secretary of State’s office says that’s no longer the case. When the State Supreme Court overturned the new law, it also cut ties between teh provisional ballot and the identification regulations. Temple says that means voters would only need a provisional ballot if there is a need to verify eligibility in a particular precinct or on the voter roll book. Authorities then determine whether to verify the all provisional ballots cast after the polls close.

Voter Photo ID Sponsor Will Try Again

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The sponsor of the voter photo-ID law that has been thrown out by the state supreme court still believes the reasons behind his bill are good—although the court says the position is without foundation. The sponsor of the bill, Senator Delbert Scott of Lowry City, says Missouri voters understand there is voter fraud and his bill was enacted to stop it. But the supreme court says parties to the case all admit the law would not have affected absentee ballot fraud or registration fraud… Scott points to efforts in St. Louis and Kansas City to file apparently fraudulent registrations—although election officials in both cities say their procedures under existing laws and policies caught those attempts. But the state supreme court says the identification requirement in his law did not address “any perception of voter fraud with precision, nor is it necessary to solve any existing voter fraud problems. Furthermore, the court says there has been no evidence of voter impersonation fraud in Missouri since the legislature passed a different law four years ago. Scott says he’ll use the court ruling as a guide to writing a new voter photo-ID bill next year.