LETTERS 05/06/08

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Research shows that photo ID requirements encourage racial and ethnic discrimination at polling places, prevent eligible voters from participating, and limit turnout. Genuine instances of impersonation at the polls are rare, and the costs of this proposed solution to an unproven problem are great.

In 2006 the Missouri Secretary of State estimated that almost 240,000 Missourians of voting age, including about 16 percent of our seniors, don’t have a state-issued photo ID. The burden of obtaining one falls hardest on elderly, low-income, minority or handicapped people, who often lack the required documents (birth certificates or marriage licenses) needed to obtain ID. A photo ID requirement would disenfranchise the very people who must work the hardest to vote at all.

Missouri should be in the business of encouraging full participation, not impeding the right to vote. The Legislature should oppose the voter ID requirement and instead focus on improving poll worker training and ensuring our elections are more efficient, secure, accurate and re-countable.

Jo Sapp

President, League of Women Voters

of Missouri

Columbia

Now that we are going to be under the watchful eyes of traffic cameras placed at dangerous intersections (5/2, Local, “Red light cameras get OK”), I hope some genuine effort is put forth to clear up a couple of issues that will develop in the vehicle identification process.

It would seem that a vehicle with a temporary tag taped high in the window would be very difficult to identify for ticket-mailing purposes. The same goes for those tags that are covered with the dubious, super-spy smoked plate covers, the purpose of which I’ve never understood.

It’s common knowledge that many drivers simply “update” their temp tags using a copy machine and black marker and use them for months or years.

The smoked license plate covers prevent law enforcement from seeing whether the tags have been renewed properly and will defeat the camera.

I really don’t see why any of this is allowed. Now it will cost the city money in the form of tickets that can’t be collected from offenders photographed by the new cameras.

Art Richards

Lee’s Summit

Thank you for running the article, “Influence of lobbyists is hard to shake” (4/27, A-14). This insidious influence is undermining our democracy and affects almost all areas of public life: health care, the environment, the military and agriculture.

I am hopeful that we will someday have public elections. Perhaps if candidates John McCain and Barack Obama stick to their pledges, we will see it in the upcoming presidential election.

Royceann Mather

Overland Park

I would like to thank the local newscasts for their reporting of the thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings on May 1.

Not once did I hear the warnings in Spanish, nor did the scrolling information across the screen come across the TV in Spanish. Someone finally realizes we are in the United States of America and our native language is English.

I am tired of going to stores to see a sign in English and then the same sign in Spanish, or calling into local companies on their toll-free numbers and being asked what language I prefer in their automated response units.

We speak English in this country, and those who are here should learn to speak the language of the country they chose to make a home in and work in (I won’t go into legally or not).

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