Missouri Voter Refuses Illegal Demand to Show Photo ID at Poll, Gets Thrown in Jail

Brad Friedman
Brad Blog
Friday, Aug 8, 2008

This story is unfrickin’-believable. Or maybe it isn’t. It took place in Thor Hearne country, after all. And though she didn’t get arrested and thrown in jail, a similar incident happened to the Missouri Secretary of State during the 2006 election.

A voter in Kansas City on Tuesday — one I happen to know, because he’s an Election Integrity advocate in the Show Me State — was arrested and sent to jail after he refused to show a driver’s license at the polling place before attempting to vote during the state’s Primary Election.

The voter is Phil Lindsey of ShowMeTheVote.org and he posted the details of his harrowing tale over at DemocraticUnderground.com, where he posts as “galloglas”, after being released on Tuesday night.

(Article continues below)

He told me, via email late last night, that he’s been in close touch with MO’s Secretary of State Robin Carnahan following the incident, and that both local media and folks such as nationally syndicated radio host Thom Hartmann have been in touch with him since the story broke last night. He was surprised, but pleased, that the incident has received so much coverage already. [UPDATE: Local Fox affiliate now covering here, for example.]

Never mind that requiring a voter to show a driver’s license in MO before they can vote was found unconstitutional in 2006. Never mind that he showed the pollworkers a perfectly legal and proper precinct-issued voter ID card when he went to vote. Never mind that he had even called to check with the local Board of Elections before going to vote, to make sure that the ID would be acceptable. Never mind that he even brought a copy of the MO law to show the pollworkers who had demanded a driver’s license (much as they had done, illegally, in a previous election he’d voted in).

The cops were called, and he ended up going to jail anyway. The charge on the citation: “Did knowingly cause a disturbance/disorderly conduct to wit: acts in a violent or tumultuous manner toward another, placing such person(s) in fear of safety by refusing to show proper I. D. when voting”…

BRAD BLOG readers may remember that Carnahan herself was told, three times, by a pollworker in 2006, that she had to show a driver’s license in order to vote. Never mind that she’s the Sec. of State and had some familiarity with the law in this case.

My father, as I’m originally from St. Louis, also had a similar incident, (sans the being arrested part) at the polls in 2006, which he documented for us here at the time.

Moreover, a report from the MO SoS after the 2006 election listed a number of incident reports [PDF] where voters were illegally asked for Photo ID’s, and even reports of polling places illegally posting signs claiming that Photo ID was required to vote. Clearly, it wasn’t an accident that so many poll workers were instructed to do exactly that. Looks like not much has changed in the two years since.

Here’s how Lindsey recounts the moments after the cops arrived at the polling place, where Lindsey held his ground in refusing to proffer a different ID to the pollworkers:

One officer then turned to me and said, “This is your last chance. Leave and never come back here.” I said, “You’re kidding, surely. Never? And where do I vote in November?”

“Are you going?” he asked again. I asked, “You mean leave without even having an answer as to why I am not allowed to cast my ballot?”

His answer was nonverbal; but he leaned in close, and I knew he was waiting for an answer. “Uhhh… with all due respect, officer… I feel that if I did so, I would be betraying my own conscience, and setting a bad precedent for all those citizens who share my right to vote.”

About two nano-seconds after finishing my sentence, an officer behind me grabbed my wrists, handcuffed me, pulled me by the arm and pushed me into the back seat of a caged police car.

Once he was finally released from jail, he went to the Eastern Jack Election Board upon the suggestion of both the Republican and Democratic Election Directors who had called his son (he had gone to vote with his father, and was similarly denied his right to vote) after he’d notified them of the incident.

Lindsey writes that Republican Director Charlene Davis was particularly hostile when she greeted him, but she and her Democratic counterpart eventually offered him another chance. Sort of…

The final attempt by the Board to mollify my son and I was to offer us the chance to actually vote (it was about 3:30PM then). I asked, “At our precinct?”

“No,” I was told, “I’ll give you a ballot right here to cast.”

“Why can’t we vote at our precinct?” I asked. “You have acknowledged that we were correct, and should have been allowed to vote. Why can’t we.”

“Well,” she said, “if you go back out there, you may be arrested again.”

“For what?”

“Well those judges filed a complaint the first time. I’m can’t guarantee it won’t happen again.”

Thinking for a second, I suggested, “Why don’t you go out with us? Or send someone.”

Well, that was as far as she would go. The offer to cast a ballot at the Board Office. And I told her I would not be willing to vote a provisional ballot but she replied that it would not be provisional. I suggested she give me a moment to consult, by phone, with the SoS’s Office. I was told that I would have to leave the building to do so.

I did so, checked on the status of the complaint I had already filed with the SoS by phone, then decided (since I doubt any race would be decided by my vote) that I did not want to chance setting any precedent by voting at the Board after having misdeneanor [sic] charges filed against me by the Election Judges.

Lindsey’s story is remarkable and a chilling sign of what is likely to come — in spades — this November.

Missouri has historically been a fierce battleground. McClatchy’s Greg Gordon called it “Ground Zero” for the GOP’s voter fraud/suppression campaign in 2006, in no small part, because it’s home to master GOP “voter fraud” scamster, Mark F. “Thor” Hearne, of the now-defunct (though they’ve just slithered back underground) “non-partisan” front group “American Center for Voting Rights” (ACVR). The BRAD BLOG first outed Hearne and his sick scheme in early 2005 and, we’ve been following the democracy terrorist closely every since. It remains a mystery where Hearne, the national general counsel for Bush/Cheney ‘04 Inc., close friend of Rove, received the $1 million dollars to start up his tax-exempt vote suppression outfit, even though they are legally required to disclose that information. ACVR operatives were also found to be at the center of the U.S. Attorney Purge scandal where Bush-appointed USA’s were fired by the Bush-DoJ after refusing to prosecute phony voter fraud charges.

Lindsey noted in his email tonight, in regard to his fellow Missourian Hearne, “from his looks the last time I saw him, the years are wearing on him.” Well, gosh, we’re so sorry to hear that. Perhaps the guilt from helping to keep 90 year-old nuns, U.S. Army veterans and untold numbers of students and minority voters who don’t even try anymore, is beginning to wear on him. But I doubt it.

Lindsey’s full story, as he posted it (typos and all) at Democratic Underground Tuesday night after he finally got home, has got lots of detail, but it’s well worth the read. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

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8 Responses to “Missouri Voter Refuses Illegal Demand to Show Photo ID at Poll, Gets Thrown in Jail”

1. george Says:
   August 8th, 2008 at 4:24 am

   who cares if they ID you. That’s alot better than having the vote swayed by illegal aliens. Why is prisonplanet.com more concerned about the ID’ing than the illegals. Maybe Alex runs an alien smuggling operation. Sounds like a conspiracy to me.

2. Mister Jimmy Says:
   August 8th, 2008 at 5:50 am

   In the state where I live, you must show a photo ID to vote as well. Also, no matter what your age, you must also show an ID to buy beer at most stores, Wal-Mart prominent among them–you can look like Methuselah, but no ID, no brew-ski. You must show an ID to pick up certain mail here or to enter the courthouse or, if turning in a prescription for the first time at most drugstores, Wal-Mart again prominent among them, they ask for a driver’s permit, which they then Xerox. I recently changed doctors and was asked by the new doc’s staff to turn over my driver’s permit so they could get a photocopy. If using a credit card at most places around here, you will be asked to show a driver’s permit. A friend was recently stopped by the local cops while riding her bicycle at dusk without a light and asked for her driver’s permit. She pointed out that she wasn’t driving, had no ID on her and was just trying to exercise ( and wanted to be left alone. )However the cops got mad and threatened to arrest her. She had a cell phone and called her husband (a lawyer) who rushed over with a sheaf of her ID and straightened things out without her doing a night in the slammer.

3. Paul Says:
   August 8th, 2008 at 7:06 am

   The answer here, is simple: Follow the law! The Constitution provides for each state to establish election law and practices. This is yet another example of arrogance and ignorance in authority- from the pollworkers, to the cops who arrested Lindsey, to the judges.

   Not to excuse their breaking the law; however, most states do require you to bring a photo ID. I don’t have the answer whether or not these requirements are repressive and intolerable. There needs to be a balance struck and we need to debate the issue.

   I reject a national/international slave card, and will not be accepting a REALID, yet I detest voter fraud and can understand why some states have come to the conclusion that voters should provide photo ID or two forms of ID.

   For states where photo ID are required to vote, and this freedom movement deems that this is a violation of our rights. What can we suggest as an alternative solution to properly count ballots and prevent voter fraud. What do we want to change the law to?

   When it comes to voting, here is what I think we all agree on: 1)Only US citizens should be able to vote, 2)we should only be able to vote once, 3)all of our votes should be equally counted. 4)we should only vote in our registered district, 5)all ballots should be secret.

   There is some debate about the districting issue, but that is another topic. And people worry about the ballot being secret but when this great republic began- all votes were cast in public and were counted for all to see and hear. Personally, I’m not afriad of reprisals but I appreciate a secreet ballot. Another problem is that ‘equally counted’ issue- purely electronic ballots are corrupt and don’t work, neither do some paper ballots. I am from Florida am sick of hanging chads. In my county; however, we utilize something I remember from school: the scan-tron. We simply bubble in our choice with blue or black pen, feed it through the machine, and it counts the votes. I rather like this system because the ballot is still secret, it is electronically counted, but a paper trail exists.

   Any ideas?

4. John Says:
   August 8th, 2008 at 9:28 am

   I have some ideas Paul, but unfortunately not all of them are good. For years I have removed myself from the process of voting, because contrary to popular belief, my vote does not count. As proven in the last election. The ruling class has taken control of the process to serve their own interests, and no matter what anyone tells you this is not democracy. The best candidate for the job? yeah right! Those people are excluded from the process from the get go. It is corrupt from the poles to the office. Look at many of the laws passed in the last 7 years and try tell me otherwise.

   The winner of the popular vote (most actual votes) may not actually win. How the fuck does that work? Still trying to figure this one out. Boycotting the process entirely is unfortunately an option, reason being, we’re at over 50% of people who don’t vote and I’ll bet this November a new record will be set. It is actually, for the most part, as much a mass protest as it is an exercise in futility. It may get to the point that so few people actually vote that it will nullify the process, forcing change, albeit the hard way or systemic collapse.

   Another idea would be a pin or electronic signature ID on the voter reg card. Voter registeration is done at the DMV in most states, where personal information is necessary. They should take care of it then and simplify the actual process of voting. Many people, the ones who actually waste there time voting, don’t have the time to wait in huge lines as every person is IDed. The process has become so rediculuous that many just don’t go.

   Bottom line is it’s a police state and you can get arrested for litterally nothing. We let it get this way. Eventually this will bloat the courts with worthless cases, and I’ll bet states are going to see a lot law suits, especially when the default setting for power drunk robot cops is to kick the shit out of and tazer people for one simple word “Why.” Our government won’t actually do anything until it hits them in the head, in the form of thousands of armed opposition, or the wallet. Memorize your driver’s license number and give them that when they demand an ID. It will give them something to do instead of kicking the shit out of you. Kind of like distracting an unruly child. Most of them are pretty unintelligent, ie, stupid, and are incapable of critical thinking. Use brains againt brutality when you’re out numbered and out gunned.

   Eventually members of the law enforcement community and military, those who have any brains left and are still capable of making their own decisions at all aside from doing what their told, are going to have to choose to between freedom and being a Nazi for our profoundly corrupt government. They may end up finding themselves on the front lines of a new revolutionary war. I pray for us all this won’t be the end result

   As far as REALID goes. Already a done deal. You know the “new” passports and State drivers licenses now being issued? Same thing different lable. It’s actually an insult. Like we’re all so fuckin stupid we couldn’t figure this one out. Looks like shit, smells like shit, but they tell me its chocolate. Nothing 5 seconds in a microwave or a few days between powerful magnets can’t fix though. Bring it with you during your next MRI, oops.

5. Dean Says:
   August 8th, 2008 at 9:34 am

   George,

   Did you even bother to read the article? He did show proper identification, read paragraph 5 on the article.

   George, when government tries to force people to be microchipped you and your family should be first in line. You would have been a good comrade in the old U.S.S.R and would have been an exemplary Third Reich citizen.

6. Pete from Missouri Says:
   August 8th, 2008 at 11:40 am

   Here in Missouri, not only a driver’s license is insisted upon, you are not allowed to vote without a socialist slavestate number either. You are not asked to show that directly, but the “last four” are used for ID verification purposes. This to me is the real tyranny.

   Pete

7. NavySearchandRescue Says:
   March 19th, 2009 at 9:19 am

   This state is a piece of shit politically, always has been.

   Sign the petition

8. NavySearchandRescue Says:
   March 19th, 2009 at 9:20 am

   yer a links button