On November 8, voters across Missouri will vote on Constitutional Amendment 6, the so-called Photo ID measure. The Missouri Sierra Club recommends a "no" vote. Let me share a few stories about real Missourians to explain why.

My mother is 84 years old. Because of her health, she no longer drives, and so she no longer has a current driver's license. Trust me, it is good for all of us that she is no longer driving! But here is the problem -- if the so-called Photo ID ballot measure passes, she will no longer be able to vote, since she will not have a current government-issued Photo ID. She has lived in this state for over 70 years, and voted in this state for over 60 years. She has raised nine children in this state. Since she gave up driving, she has been able to use other forms of ID, like a utility bill or voter registration card, to establish her identity. Why is she having her voting rights taken away now, after all these years?

My mom is not the only one who would lose her voting rights. Over 350,000 Missouri citizens do not possess a current government photo ID. These citizens include the elderly, the poor, people with disabilities, youth, and African-Americans.

These same Missourians who are most likely to lose their voting rights are also disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution. For example, young people and the elderly are more susceptible to respiratory illnesses caused by dirty air. That is why kids in St. Louis and Kansas City are facing an asthma epidemic. That is why elderly people are suffering heart attacks and strokes from sulfur dioxide and small particle pollution from coal-fired power plants in places like Sikeston, Labadie, and Montrose.

That is the reason the Missouri Sierra Club is recommending that voters reject Amendment 6. Our country was founded on the principle that the government is accountable to the people, and that the people exercise that oversight through voting. What happens when Missouri citizens who face environmental threats can no longer use their vote to demand action? Let me share the story of three Missourians who face such a predicament.

My mom, whose story I shared above, lives in St. Louis County, which has been designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as having dangerous levels of ozone pollution. Ozone causes respiratory problems, especially in elderly people. Now, my mom can make her voice heard by voting. If Amendment 6 passes, she will lose that ability.

Here is another example. Sara Campbell lives in Kansas City, and has a disability that requires her to use a motorized chair to get around. The EPA determined that the air in downtown KC where she lives had such high levels of sulfur dioxide pollution that it was dangerous to breathe. Sara lobbied the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to demand enforcement of the Clean Air Act. It worked! The major source of the pollution, the Veolia plant, quit burning coal earlier this year and now the air in downtown KC meets federal standards on sulfur dioxide.

Here's an example from mid-Missouri. Recent University of Missouri -- Columbia graduate Ashley Wineland has been organizing youth to demand action on climate change. She even traveled to Paris this past December for the United Nations climate negotiations that produced a historic agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions on a world scale. But college students move frequently, often changing their address each academic year, so many of these young people do not have a Photo ID that includes their current address. Since young people will bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change, how can we take away their voting rights?

You may be thinking that, while my points are valid, we must stop voter impersonation fraud. The truth is that there has never been a case of voter impersonation fraud in Missouri. This amendment is government overreach to solve a non-existent problem. This measure was put on the ballot by the government (in this case the General Assembly) to make it harder for citizens to hold government accountable.

This is why the Sierra Club recommends a "no" vote on Amendment 6. While the big polluters have more money to spend to influence the government, we the people depend on our voting rights to get fair play.

Hickey is Missouri Chapter Director of Sierra Club