Sierra Club To Mobilize Against Extreme Missouri Constitutional Amendment #VotingRights

The Sierra Club announced its opposition to Amendment 6, a proposed Constitutional amendment on the November 8, 2016 ballot in Missouri, and the Missouri Sierra Club Chapter plans to engage its nearly 33,000 members and supporters to defeat the ballot initiative.

If passed, Amendment 6 would amend the Constitution of Missouri to state that voters will be required by law to verify one’s identity, citizenship, and residence by presenting identification that may include valid government-issued photo identification. Approximately 220,000 registered Missouri voters would face greater difficulty casting a ballot if Amendment 6 were passed. Amendment 6 would make it harder, and in some cases impossible, for seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and college or university students to vote.

“The people most impacted by pollution and climate disruption in Missouri will also be some of the people hit hardest by this extreme voter suppression measure. The Sierra Club works with our allies to ensure all voices have an equal say in the decisions impacting their lives. A critical piece of this is ensuring communities bearing the biggest brunt of pollution can make it to the polls and vote,” said John Hickey, Missouri Chapter Director of the Sierra Club.

With support from the national Sierra Club organization, the Missouri Chapter of the Sierra Club will mobilize its members and supporters to vote no on Amendment 6. The chapter will educate and engage students on college campuses like St. Louis University. The national Sierra Club will also sponsor phone calls, emails, and paid media to reach Missouri voters.

“Amendment 6 is an extreme, flawed, and costly attempt by big polluters and their allies to keep certain people away from the polls and stifle our voices on election day,” said Courtney Hight, Democracy Program Director of the Sierra Club. “The Sierra Club will use its grassroots strength to defeat this attack on democracy and justice and set an example for the rest of the country that we need to protect and expand voting rights for all.”