Saturday, May 23, 2015

Missouri Secretary of State Candidate Files Voter ID Measure


A Republican candidate for Missouri Secretary of State, St. Louis attorney Jay Ashcroft, the son of former governor, U.S. Senator and Attorney General John Ashcroft, on Thursday filed an initiative petition that would allow the Legislature to require voters to present photo identification at the polls.

Republican supporters, including Ashcroft's opponent in the GOP primary Sen. Will Kraus, have pushed to amend the state's constitution since the Missouri Supreme Court declared photo ID requirements unconstitutional in 2006.

"This is an important part of protecting our ballot box in the state," Kraus said. "I support any effort to make voter ID become law in Missouri and I am encouraged to see more and more individuals and organizations join this cause every day."

Supporters of requiring photo ID say it would prevent in-person voter fraud and protect the integrity of elections. But Democratic opponents say the measure would make it harder for minorities, women and the poor to vote.

Ashcroft said he supported making it easy for people to get any ID that would be required and said the constitutional amendment would simply allow lawmakers in the future to enact requirements if they chose to do so. "The core idea of it is we're just making sure people are who they say they are," Ashcroft said. "If we allow people to fraudulently vote then we disenfranchise others."

Aschroft entered the race for after current Secretary of State Jason Kander, a Democrat, announced a bid for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Roy Blunt.

A report released in 2014 estimated that a House measure to enact photo ID requirements could disenfranchise more than 200,000 eligible voters.











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