Like any smart warrior, Phil Lindsey is gearing up for battle – the battle to protect voter integrity and transparency in the November general election.

“Missouri is a bellwether state and my guess is if the election is stolen, it could be in St. Louis County and Eastern Jackson County (Mo.),” he said.

Lindsey, Independence, is director of Showmethevote!, a 501c (3) grassroots organization dedicated to voting rights. The group advocates hand-counting paper ballots to protect the integrity of the voting process. They also submitted petitions to the Missouri Legislature opposing photo voter ID, a former voting identification requirement the state Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional last year.

SMTV! is spearheading a new initiative to insure voter integrity in the November election. They are asking election officials from all 122 county election boards in Missouri to make a commitment to link to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Web site, which clearly outlines acceptable forms of IDs needed to vote in the state.

http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/voterid/default.asp

Recently, SMTV! mailed each county clerk and election director in Missouri an open letter asking election officials to agree to do everything possible to insure no voter is disenfranchised; correspond with voters through the SMTV! Web site to build voter confidence; and work with SMTV! county monitors on the day of the election to ensure voter integrity.

“We want both voters and election judges to know what is adequate and proper voting ID,” Lindsey said.

SMTV! also is concerned about efforts from both the Democratic and Republican parties to improperly remove voters from the lists of registered voters or employ a technique called “voter caging” – a voter suppression tactic where members of a political party send mail that can’t be forwarded to another address and is then returned. The purpose is to remove a voter who is likely to vote for the competing party from the voter rolls.

“This can affect voters who may move right before the election or who have lost homes due to foreclosure,” Lindsey said. “It could impact people who have a name change, who’ve been married or divorced, someone who uses a middle name and first initial, or someone who is on assignment in Iraq.”

Lindsey said by contacting state election officials to address these issues publicly, SMTV! hopes these situations will be less likely to happen in the November election. SMTV! also is encouraging election officials to use its Web site (www.showmethevote.org) as a venue to communicate directly with voters.

“We believe that voters will feel greater confidence that their votes will be cast if that confidence is truly warranted,” he said.

To date, Lindsey said SMTV! has received return replies from the election boards of Platte, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, and Ripley counties. Results received will be posted on the SMTV! Web site.

Ryan Hobart, deputy communications director for the Missouri Secretary of State's Office, said in an e-mail that SOS also is reaching out to state election officials.

"Our office also wants to encourage local election officials to link to the acceptable forms of voter ID shown on our Web site," he said. "In addition, we have sent election officials across the state 'polling place posters' listing the acceptable forms of ID voters can show at the polls."

Lindsey also is involved in other efforts to assure voters are not disenfranchised. Last week he met with local members of the national, nonpartisan legal organization, The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (www.lawyerscomm.org). Formed in 1963 at the request of John F. Kennedy, the private organization uses members of the bar association, in part, to provide legal services to voters discriminated against in the voting process because of race.

The group will print and distribute information cards that list phone numbers for voters to call if they believe they are victims of disenfranchisement on Election Day.

Lindsey has experienced his own frustrations with the voting process at his Independence precinct.

In the February election, he was asked by election judges to show a photo ID. He balked, informing election judges the requirement was unconstitutional. When judges would not relent, Lindsey chose to show his driver’s license so he could vote and afterward, file a complaint with the Jackson County Election Board.

However, while he filed a complaint with JCEB, he said he was later informed they had lost his complaint.

In the August primary election, Lindsey was asked by election judges in his precinct to show a signature ID, also not required by state law. Instead, Lindsey presented a postcard notification from the JCEB bearing his name and address and a utility bill – both acceptable forms of voter ID under state law. When judges refused these, he produced a third acceptable ID under state law -- a bank statement.

However, election judges refused to let him vote unless he provided a signature ID, even though Lindsey said he attempted to provide them with a handout outlining acceptable forms of ID from the state Secretary of State office. When Lindsey insisted he be allowed to vote using the ID he presented, a heated conversation ensued between election judges and Lindsey, resulting in an election judge calling the city police. Lindsey was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. He had to post a $300 cash bond to gain his release.

Lindsey’s situation has garnered interest from both the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Western Missouri and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, headquartered in Washington, D.C. Both organizations are investigating why the ID Lindsey presented was rejected by election judges. They are not representing him in his legal case.

Lindsey’s trial on the charge of disorderly conduct is scheduled Oct. 22 in the Independence Municipal Court,

To learn more information about SMTV! or to participate in the voter forum, visit www.showmethevote.org.