Voter ID Bill to be Heard in Missouri House Committee Tuesday

By Erin Ferns Lee March 7, 2011
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Today, Project Vote submitted testimony to House Elections Committee members in opposition to Missouri’s latest restrict photo voter ID bill.

Senate Joint resolution 2 and SB 3 are “among the most regressive legislative proposals threatening the right to vote in this nation,” and “taken together, constitute a direct threat to the voting rights of many of Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens, who, to add insult to injury, would be forced to pay for the implementation of this proposal to the tune of many millions of dollars.”

According to a report by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, 230,000 registered Missourian voters lacked government issued photo ID in 2008 and 2009. And, at a price tag of seven to 20 million dollars during a serious budget deficit (an estimated $700 million), implementing a photo voter ID law is a costly solution in search of a problem.

In 2006, the Missouri Supreme Court struck down a similar law as unconstitutional. Since then, the legislature has attempted to amend the state constitution in order to pass a strict photo ID law.

The bills will be heard Tuesday,  March 7 at 8:15 a.m. in House Hearing Room 5.