As voters across the U.S. go to the polls on November 8, Missourians will be voting on Constitutional Amendment 6, the so-called Photo ID measure. The Sierra Club is recommending a “no” vote -- let me explain why.
My mother is 84 years old. She no longer drives, and so she no longer has a current driver’s license. Trust me, it is good for all of us that she is no longer driving! But here is the problem –- if this amendment passes, she will no longer be able to vote, since she will not have a current government-issued photo ID. She has lived in this state for over 70 years, voted here since 1952, and raised nine children in Missouri. Since she gave up driving, she has been able to use other forms of ID, like a utility bill or voter registration card, to establish her identity. Why is she having her voting rights taken away now, after all these years?
My mom isn’t the only one who would lose her voting rights. Approximately 220,000 registered Missouri voters would face greater difficulty casting a ballot if Amendment 6 were passed. These citizens include the elderly, the poor, people with disabilities, college or university students, and African Americans.
These same Missourians most likely to lose their voting rights are also disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution. For example, young people and the elderly are more susceptible to respiratory illnesses caused by dirty air. That is why kids in St. Louis and Kansas City are facing an asthma epidemic. That is why elderly people are suffering heart attacks and strokes from sulfur dioxide and pollution from coal-fired power plants in places like Sikeston, Labadie, and Montrose.
Our country was founded on the principle that the government is accountable to the people, and that the people exercise that oversight through voting. What happens when Missouri citizens who face environmental threats can no longer use their vote to demand action?
My mom, whose story I shared above, lives in St. Louis County, which has been designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as having dangerous levels of ozone pollution. Ozone causes respiratory problems, especially in elderly people. Now, my mom can make her voice heard by voting. If Amendment 6 passes, she will lose that ability.
Another example: Sierra Club leader Sara Campbell lives in Kansas City, and has a disability that requires her to use a motorized chair to get around. The EPA determined that the air in downtown Kansas City where she lives had such high levels of sulfur dioxide pollution that it was dangerous to breathe. Sara lobbied the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to demand enforcement of the Clean Air Act. It worked! The major source of the pollution, the Veolia plant, quit burning coal earlier this year and now the air in downtown Kansas City meets federal standards on sulfur dioxide.
Here’s an example from mid-Missouri: Recent University of Missouri –- Columbia graduate Ashley Wineland has been organizing young people to demand action on climate change. She even traveled to Paris this past December as part of the Sierra Student Coalition for the United Nations climate negotiations that produced a historic agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. But college students move frequently, often changing their addresses each academic year, so many of these young people do not have a photo ID that includes their current address. Since young people will bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change, how can we take away their voting rights?
While the big polluters have more money to spend to influence government decisions, we the people depend on our voting rights to have an equal opportunity to have our voices heard. This is why the Sierra Club is working with allies and mobilizing our over 33,000 Sierra Club members and supporters in Missouri to vote "No on 6" on November 8.
Paid for by Sierra Club, John Hickey, Missouri Chapter Director, 2818 Sutton Ave, St. Louis, MO 63143