U-Turn: Fraud To Justify Voter Suppression Law Is Once Again "Pervasive" In Missouri
I'm getting really confused. In February, Rep. Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) told the House Elections Committee that "there are countless examples of voter fraud" in Missouri.
Then longtime voter suppression activist Thor Hearne rejected questions from a conservative Chesterfield crowd about the possibility of widespread voter fraud. "I'm not a big believer in conspiracy theories," he said about conservative voter fraud hysteria (that he worked very hard to gin up).
And then Rep. Cynthia Davis (R-O'Fallon) it is "virtually impossible" to know if there's voter impersonation fraud in Missouri (the kind of fraud a photo id would attempt to thwart). Still, she supports GOP proposals to disenfranchise many thousands of voters as an experiment to find if there is voter impersonation fraud to justify the suppression policies.
But now I see that Cox is once again trotting out the talking point that fraud is "pervasive" in Missouri, even though he can't provide reasonable examples of the fraud his
Which is it, y'all? Are there "countless examples" of fraud? Or is it "virtually impossible" to know if there's voter impersonation fraud? It can't be both.
I'm also confused by recent comments from Rep. John Diehl (R-St. Louis County) about whether or not people will be blocked from voting if his proposed law (HB 1966) is enacted:
Diehl said that the change would mean registered voters without [valid government-issued photo] ID would not be eligible to vote if they did not meet exemption requirements, but would be eligible for the next election after receiving a state-issued ID.
“I would not categorize that as a barrier to voting,” Diehl said.
Just what would Diehl consider a "barrier to voting?" By his own admission, the law would enact new requirements that make people without valid government-issued photo IDs unable to vote. You can vote in the next election, maybe! How can he say that his law is not a "barrier to voting," while acknowledging that citizens will be blocked from casting ballots?
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