Elections Can't Really be Fair, Free and Accurate if Eligible Voters Can't Vote

Elections Can't Really be Fair, Free and Accurate if Eligible Voters Can't Vote
Robin Carnahan
Posted May 9, 2008 | 02:59 PM (EST)


Last week, the United States Supreme Court upheld an Indiana law requiring voters to present a government-issued photo ID in order to vote. This week, that new law garnered national attention when 12 elderly nuns were prevented from voting because they did not have the required government-issued ID.

This is the predictable result of a flawed law. We've been facing the same battle in my home state of Missouri. In fact, in 2006 our state Supreme Court struck down a similar law as unconstitutional. But now, the debate over whether to require government-issued ID's in order to vote is back.

This week, as the Missouri House of Representatives began its debate on this voter suppression legislation, I spoke to Sister Sandy Schwartz of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Mary the Angel. After she heard the story about the Indiana incident, she did a quick survey of the 35 nuns in her convent and found that 15 did not have a government-issued photo ID to vote -- therefore, no right to vote.

Another Missourian, Birdie Owen had a different story. Birdie relocated to Missouri after Hurricane Katrina and still uses her Louisiana ID. That's because she can't get a Missouri photo ID.

Why? Because her birth certificate was lost in the hurricane. And because a birth certificate is one of the documents required in order to get a Missouri photo ID, without one, no government-issued ID... therefore, no right to vote.

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-carnahan/elections-cant-really-be_b_101030.html

JUST SAY NO