A rural Missouri election clerk’s plan to take away the voting rights of residents who have been appointed a court guardian has caught the attention of Missouri’s last Democratic governor.
Former Gov. Jay Nixon, now a partner at St. Louis law firm Dowd Bennett, is representing the family of Mark Murphey — a 35-year-old man with a cognitive condition that causes seizures. His ability to vote was threatened by the elections clerk of Phelps County.
Even though the clerk has indicated she changed her mind and will allow Murphey to vote, Nixon and others worry about the precedent set by her threat. Nixon said he is drafting a legal opinion that will make clear that Murphey — and other Missouri residents under court guardianships — maintain the right to vote.
