VOTING RIGHTS: Name, rank, serial number


Friday, Apr. 08 2005

WHEN MISSOURI LEGISLATORS play the terrorism card, Missourians need to be
skeptical.

A proposal working its way through the Legislature would require people to
present a birth certificate to register to vote. In the name of fighting
terrorism and combating illegal immigration, the bill would make it much harder
for everyone - married women in particular - to register to vote.

Senate Bill 50, the brainchild of state Sen. Larry Gene Taylor, R-Carthage,
would require people who register to vote to present their birth certificate,
Social Security card, or other proof of U.S. citizenship at the polls. This
works a particular hardship on married women who would not only have to locate
a notarized copy of their birth certificate, but also present a marriage
license proving their name change is bona fide. Whether it would apply only to
first-time registrants or every time a person moves across a county line is
unclear.

Mr. Taylor says he's worried that the thousands of illegal immigrants in his
neck of the woods will vote, although he acknowledges that there is no evidence
they have already. As for deterring terrorism, Mr. Taylor notes that a truck
driver must be a registered voter to haul flammable fuels, which could be used
in an attack.

Missouri legislators have unfettered imagination when it comes to ginning up
terrorist threats to justify their benighted bills. Another goofy bill, House
Bill 666 would make it a crime to photograph farm animals in a pasture, for
fear the photos could help terrorists poison the food chain.

The Constitution was 130 years old before women won the right to vote. In the
ensuing years, most election reforms have made it easier for people to register
and vote, not harder.

The Missouri Legislature would be making a mistake to start moving in the other
direction by making Missouri among the first states in the nation to place such
burdensome rules on John Q.- and especially Mrs. John Q. - Public.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stor...9E?OpenDocument