County Clerks Association concerned about proposed Photo ID/Early Voting amendment

The GOP's proposed Photo ID/Early Voting constitutional amendment is set to hit the Floor this week, with Republicans looking to make one final push to disenfranchise more than 200,000 voters.  The Beacon's Jo Mannies and Dale Singer, with help from Jason Rosenbaum, have just posted a comprehensive overview of the legislation that's well worth the read.  The stale, unfounded arguments from the GOP about "fraud" are all there, plus a look at who will be affected by Photo ID requirements.

The Beacon story also touches on the resistance from the state's county clerks, who are concerned about the fiscal impact and mandates of the early voting plan, which would be written into the constitution, and would therefore be very difficult to modify in future years.

Missouri's county clerks are split over the photo ID requirement, said association president Stan Whitehurst, the Webster County circuit clerk. But when it comes to HJR 9's early voting mandate, most of the association members are against it...

Many association members object to HJR 9's specific language regarding office hours and administrative procedures for early voting, he explained. But what really got the group worked up is the measure's lack of state money to help cover the added election costs that county clerks believe will accompany early voting.

Legislators "don't feel the (financial) pain," Whitehurst said. "If they had some skin in the game, they'd be concerned about the costs of these specific proposals."

The association's concerns could well harm HJR 9's chances, by providing unexpected assistance to various groups who have long been opponents of any Missouri law requiring government-issued photo IDs at the polls.

Early voting is a great idea and would be good for voters -- but the haphazard way it was tacked onto the Photo ID requirements underscores the cynical intentions of the proposal's Republican handlers. With the new and unexpected resistance from their own communities, there's at least some hope that HJR 9 won't make it out of the legislature.