The Show Me State – today lawmakers in Missouri are expected to vote on a constitutional amendment that would require voters to provide proof of citizenship—birth certificates and passports, leave the utility bill at home—when registering to vote. Supporters claim erecting this barrier will prevent illegal immigrants from casting votes and keep the polls free of voter fraud.
According to the New York Times, the Missouri law is expected to pass and would yolk voters with a burden greater than the Indiana’s voter ID law recently upheld by the Supreme Court. Also, of 19 states considering similar requirements, Missouri is the only one that could very well have something on the books in time for the presidential election.
Jason Rosenbaum at the Columbia Tribune is reporting on his blog that the Democratic minority is expected to filibuster the bill if it gets out of today’s Missouri Senate committee hearing, despite the likelihood that the bill would pass if they mounted such an effort.
Rep. Jeff Harris, D-Columbia, speaks against legislation:
House Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, R-Blue Springs, speaks in favor of legislation: