NAACP rally targets voter photo ID

Just 13 hours after the state Senate ended its most recent discussion of the proposals, more than 100 members and supporters of the NAACP were told Tuesday that Missourians need to stop state lawmakers from imposing voter photo identification rules.

“What we see here going on in the state of Missouri is a travesty,” Rod Chapel, new NAACP state president, told the crowd during Tuesday morning’s rally in the Capitol Rotunda.

“Our parents, our grandparents have worked so hard to assure that every American has the right to vote,” Chapel added. “The opportunity for individuals who are in America to participate in this democracy is critically dependent, and it rides on one thing — their vote.

“If you can take the vote, you can take their humanity — that’s exactly what we see here, now.”

The Missouri House already has passed two bills — a proposed constitutional amendment allowing the Legislature to require certain forms of photo identification when voters go to the polls and a proposed law to implement those requirements if voters approve the amendment.

Both are pending in the state Senate, which has debated the bill twice but taken no votes on it. The proposed law says the amendment must be passed before the law’s language can go into effect.

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, has said there’s no room for compromise, but Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit and the Senate sponsor of the two bills, told reporters Monday night: “I think that we can craft a bill that will make sure it protects everyone’s votes.”

He said he’s working with several Democrats about possible compromises, but declined to identify those while the negotiations continue.

“I think Sen. Nasheed is very strong-minded, and she has a strong opinion on this,” he said. “She vocalizes that strong opinion, but at the end of the day, I think we in the (Republican) majority have proven that we will get things done that are important to us.”

Rep. Brandon Ellington, D-Kansas City and chairman of the Black Legislative Caucus, told Tuesday’s rally: “The issues that we’re fighting for today are issues that were already resolved 50 years ago, but all of a sudden it’s a problem. …

“I’m angry that we had people die for the right to vote, and then we turn around and say that voting no longer is a right — we want to make it a privilege.”

Citing rumors around the Capitol about Republican plans to pass voter photo identification requirements, Secretary of State Jason Kander, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, said, “We all need to stand together again to fight it.” He said the constitutional amendment and the legislation could disenfranchise over 200,000 currently eligible Missouri voters, disproportionately impacting minorities and the poorest in the state.

Supporters have questioned those statistics, which are based on a compilation of voter registration records and Revenue department driver’s and non-driver’s licenses.

Current state law says voters whose identities are questioned at the polling place can show a driver’s license or other photo ID, a voter identification card, a U.S. passport or even a utility bill showing the voter’s name and address.

However, supporters of the proposed amendment and enabling law argue photo identification is the sure way of proving a voter’s identity. They often note photo IDs are required at most of the places where we do business — including video rentals, check cashing and getting on an airplane.

“The requirements they’re talking about relate to privileges,” Chapel told the News Tribune. “We’re not talking about renting a movie — we’re talking about an American right.

“You cannot legislate around the constitutional provision that insures that every American gets to vote.”

Four amendments in the U.S. Constitution — 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th — all begin with, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged …”

Also, Chapel noted, Missouri’s Constitution says properly registered voters are “entitled” to vote.

“What we’re trying to prevent here in Missouri is a constitutional question that goes to a vote of the people on whether all (Missourians) get to vote,” he said. “We can’t have that kind of question.”

Charles Smith, president of Missouri’s National Education Association, told Tuesday’s rally his group’s legislative platform urges lawmakers to avoid photo ID requirements and instead “enact legislation that would increase citizen involvement in the process.”

Lawmakers in 2006 passed a voter photo ID requirement, but the state Supreme Court ruled it violated the state Constitution.

That’s why supporters of the idea since have offered a proposed amendment, as well as the enabling legislation.

Some opponents argue the proposed amendment doesn’t change the Constitution’s “entitled” language, setting up another legal battle.