By Matt Sepic, KWMU
Clayton, MO – The Democrat running for Missouri Secretary of State says internet voting for military members overseas is something the state is not ready for.
Democrat Robin Carnahan is running against Republican Catherine Hanaway in the race. The Secretary of State's main job is to oversee elections.
The incumbent, Matt Blunt, recently approved a fax and e-mail system for service members to send ballots from battle zones.
But in a debate Thursday, Carnahan said it's not ready for prime time.
"I think before we do anything on this we need to make sure the military folks in service have the same rights that the folks here in the United States have," Carnahan said. "They deserve it."
Catherine Hanaway says the e-mail system is reliable, and the protecting the voting rights of those serving overseas is paramount.
The two candidates agreed on many election-related issues, including giving the secretary of state more power to enforce voting laws.
Catherine Hanaway said Missouri has tough voter fraud laws, but the Secretary of State needs subpoena power to enforce them.
"The best way to root out fraud is for there to be swift and certain enforcement, and there isn't now," Hanaway said. "Too many people know that there won't be any consequences for their actions."
The debate was sponsored by KWMU, KMOV-TV and the St. Louis Business Journal.
Click on the icon to listen to the entire debate.