A similar bill is under consideration in Missouri -- again. That state's Supreme Court already struck down a previous effort to restrict voters in 2006. But the Republicans never stop.
This time, the nuns in Missouri aren't sitting back. Today, several sisters joined other voters who will be disenfranchised and Missouri's kick ass Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan, to oppose the legislation -- just as the Missouri House was passing its discriminatory bill:
The measure passed the house 88 to 69 after about an hour of highly partisan debate. No Democrats voted yes; only Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City, crossed party lines.The State Senate votes next week. If you live in Missouri, call your state senator. Find out just whose side they are on. The nuns have your back.
One of the most vocal critics of the idea, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, a Democrat, held a press conference at the same time in St. Louis to stress her opposition. Carnahan said it was her job “to protect every voter’s right to vote, not 95 percent of voters.”
“These laws are detrimental and harmful to these people who want to exercise their right to vote,” Carnahan said.
Other local residents also spoke out against the measure. Two nuns said elderly sisters of their orders typically don’t have drivers licenses. A woman originally from Mississippi said her birth certificate, once held there in Jackson, was destroyed in a fire.
Opponents say the requirement could be discriminatory – that elderly, poor and minority residents will feel the burden more, as they’re less likely to have an up-to-date drivers license, state ID or passport. Critics also see the cost and process to obtain a birth certificate to get a such an ID as simply too high a hurdle.
Still, during the press conference, the resolution’s passing was announced as expected. Carnahan then suggested that voters call their state senators, who have only days to pass the measure.
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