The Missouri House has introduced yet another bill to make voting less accessible. Last week, the House adopted a bill to amend the state constitution to implement a photo voter ID law. Yesterday, it introduced the so-called “Safe and Fair Elections (SAFE) Act” (HB 660) to require new voter registrants to present documentary proof of citizenship in order to register to vote.
Citizenship requirements could affect millions of Americans, particularly low-income citizens and women who are less likely to possess current citizenship documents, according to a Brennan Center for Justice survey.
An 11-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Arizona rejected a similar law last spring. The en ban panel ruled that the National Voter Registration Act superseded the state’s restrictive law and that voter applicants may submit federal voter registration forms without ” any requirement for notarization or other formal authentication.” The case is currently pending in the United States Supreme Court.