Our founding fathers envisioned a government that worked for the people, not against them. Needless to say, they would probably not be too satisfied with the mess that is the Washington, D.C. of today. As the Washington insiders and career politicians continue to lose touch with what the people really desire and deserve from their government; I like to think that closer to home here in Jefferson City, we are keeping the founding fathers’ vision alive. Just this week, the Missouri House passed a key measure that ensures that our state government is a service to the people of this great state.
On Thursday, February 14 the House Third Read and Passed HCS HB 48 & 216 and HCS HJRs 5 & 12, sponsored by Rep. Tony Dugger (R-Hartsville) this legislation requires a person to submit a specified form of photo identification in order to vote in a public election. HCS HJRs 5 & 12, creates a Voter ID ballot measure for approval of the people that would add language identical to that in HCS HBs 48 & 216 to the Missouri Constitution.
The goal of these bills is to protect the sanctity and integrity of the election process, not to restrict anyone from voting. Acceptable forms of identification under these measures include: non-expired Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license; a document issued by the federal or state government that contains the individual’s name, signature, photograph and expiration date; or a photo ID issued by the National Guard, US Armed Forces or US Department of Veterans Affairs. There are also provisions in the bills that would help Missourians who might not have or be able to afford an ID to obtain a proper form of identification at no cost to the voter or vote by provisional ballot. Thus, allowing everyone to partake in the democratic process while safeguarding against voter fraud.
Government should serve to protect the people from external and internal threats. Providing measures that ensure our most sacred right to vote is good government policy.
1 comment:
Our founding fathers also didn't allow women or blacks or non-property owners to vote.
Taa Daa!
Ask Shane Schoeller about photo id requirement? He lost a statewide race because he was on the wrong side of the issue.
A friend writes...There is a reason that legislation such as this was seldom proposed for about 30-40 years after the Voting Rights Act. There is a reason that such proposals are especially common since 2008. Those who used Jim Crow laws to disenfranchise Americans were defeated and could find no alternative to replace their discriminatory practices. A new generation of politician is, lacking the hindsight of history, insisting upon reviving a conflict that has no practical purpose. It does not reduce voter fraud, which is rare (a only conviction this season was a person who attempted to vote twice for Mitt Romney). It does both confirm and assuage the paranoid fears of those who are uncomfortable with America's demographic shifts. The result of these revisionist efforts is create obstacles to the equal exercise of legal voting - obstacles that are functionally equivalent to those of Jim Crow.
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