Should Missouri residents be required to show photo identification if they want to vote in elections? Yes indeed, says Representative Tony Dugger, a Republican from Hartville, who is pushing not one, but two different measures to try and create stricter requirements for voters in Missouri. The effort requires two bills, because Dugger would need to change the state constitution. And next general election, voters might have that opportunity. The proposals, on full view below and set for a hearing tomorrow, are already sparking controversy with opponents slamming the bills as clear conservative tactics to suppress legitimate voters.
“This is a way of controlling the outcomes of elections,” Democratic Representative Stacey Newman, an opponent of the bill and the House Elections Committee’s ranking minority member, tells Daily RFT. “We are hearing story after story of people who have been voting just fine for a number of years and will no longer be able to vote. In my book, that’s voter suppression.”
House Bill 48 is a measure that would require voters to submit specified forms of photo identification in order to vote in a public election. And House Joint Resolution 5, also sponsored by Representative Dugger, puts forth the accompanying constitutional amendment. Through this process, Dugger hopes to amend the state constitution to mandate this kind of photo proof requirement with a voter-approved measure. House Bill 48 would then be the legislation to enact the policy change.
Full Article: Photo ID Bill in Missouri? Controversial Proposal Sparks Voter Suppression Criticism – St. Louis – News – Daily RFT.