Citizenship Proof Next Up in Voter ID Battle

In the wake of the Supreme Court's approval of an Indiana law requiring voters to present a state-issued photo identification card at the polls, voting security activists are seeking to take the argument over voter ID one step further, just in time for the presidential election. Missouri lawmakers plan to vote on an amendment to the state constitution that would require voters to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The amendment would tighten the proofs required for registration in the state. The Missouri Constitution already requires that voters be citizens, but currently, Missourians can show a utility bill as proof of residency and are not required to provide a birth certificate to register to vote.

Nineteen other states are also considering similar measures, but only Missouri's stands to have an impact on the November elections. The amendment, if passed by the legislature, could go before the voters for ratification on the August primary election ballot in the state. If passed into law, it would be in effect for the presidential and congressional elections in the fall. Supporters of the bill say that it is necessary to prevent illegal aliens from voting while detractors say that the bill would do more harm than good by disenfranchising poor and elderly voters. Those arguments were made against the Indiana law at the Supreme Court and were soundly rejected.

Arizona already requires proof of citizenship for registration and its impact on the electorate are under debate. Michael Slater, of Project Vote, said that the law is hindering his group's voter registration efforts. "The requirement is having a devastating effect on our voter registration work in Latino communities because so many citizens simply don't have a passport or original birth certificate," he said. But Thomas Hearne, a Missouri lawyer and supporter of the proposed Missouri law was not swayed.

"To those who have spent great energy opposing some of the voter registration or voter identification requirements, I would say their energy would be much better spent working toward trying to provide identifications to those who need them or assisting these people with getting registered."

The debate over voter identification is sure to intensify as voting rights advocates fight to keep burdens on voters low and vote security advocates try to increase measures designed to protect the integrity of the vote. In general terms, Democrats line up on the voting rights side, while Republicans tend to side with the security arguments. Missouri is a bellwether state in Presidential elections, voting for the eventual winner in every election, with only one exception, since 1904. That statistic could cause the presidential candidates to weigh in on the Missouri amendment debate, seeking to curry favor with the state's notoriously prescient presidential voters.