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PrintCOLUMBIA — Voter fraud and the implications of photo identification requirements are some of the issues slated for discussion at a free public forum Sept. 14.
The League of Women Voters, the Columbia Public Library and the Associated Students of University of Missouri will host "Voting Rights and Photo ID: The Big Picture." The forum will also address the constitutional basis of voting rights and the way elections are run in Boone County.
Missouri's Nov. 6, 2012, ballot will include a proposed amendment that would require voters to show a government-issued photo ID.
Greg Casey, professor emeritus in the MU Political Science Department, and Wendy Noren, Boone County clerk, will address those issues and take questions from the public. Light refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held in the county commission chambers of the Roger B. Wilson Boone County Government Center, 801 E. Walnut St.
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Comments
I see nothing wrong with a government issued photo ID being needed for election purposes.
It's all a matter of how such a photo ID requirement would be administered.
Correct: it *is* a matter of how the requirement would be legislated.
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So long as no monetary hurdle to voting is imposed, I don't oppose it either. Of course, that means that gov't *must* make sure that not only the voter ID cards are a no-charge item (and easily available in rural and urban areas), but that *all* supporting documents required to obtain those cards are *also* absolutely without significant cost, and easily obtainable--to poor people and to the wealthy. Easily obtainable to college students, too. Are all of these extra expenditures that such provisions would require funded by the legislation?
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If not, it's a poll tax.
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As a cookie-cutter legislation organized through the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the proposed law reeks of typical conservative efforts to minimize democracy in this country.
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You, readers, can find all sorts of leaked ALEC model legislation here; this is the link to the page having to do with voter rights issues, but you can find other items by navigating the site:
http://www.alecexposed.com/wiki/Democrac...
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The site is a project by the Center for Media and Democracy, which does not accept donations from for-profit corporations, *or* from government agencies.
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Incidentally, voter fraud is a non-issue in MO. We do have messy voter *rolls,* caused mainly by underfunded counties not keeping their books straight as people relocate, etc. But actual at-the-booth voter fraud? Nope. This legislation seeks to depress college-age and poor-urban voting, plain and simple.