x By the way, me writing Ã¢ÂÂbut thatÃ¢ÂÂs okay,Ã¢ÂÂ was me being Midwestern and passive aggressive. ItÃ¢ÂÂs really not okay. Talked to the election director this AM and will be following up further. If the mayor can get turned away, think about everyone else... We gotta do better. https://t.co/0cblbstz5R — Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) March 10, 2020

Lucas showed up to vote before 7 AM at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, where he has voted since 2009, he told The Kansas City Star. He gave a poll worker his name and the worker searched it using a utility bill, only for the system to show Lucas as unregistered. He later showed his Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners’ ID, but that still didn’t help his cause, the newspaper reported. It took about 10 minutes for poll workers to provide Lucas the option of using a provisional ballot, but he wanted to make sure his voting record would show that he voted. He decided to try again later, recognizing that some may not. “A lot of people won’t come back either because they have to go to work or because it has the opportunity to be a slightly embarrassing experience,” Lucas told the newspaper.

Lauri Ealom, Democratic director of the Kansas City Board of Elections, apologized to Lucas for the mixup and offered a simple explanation in a Twitter video. “The poll worker entered the information incorrectly,” Ealom said. “He entered his first name as his last name and his last name as his first.”

x Here's our Democratic Director, Lauri Ealom with a few words on provisional voting. pic.twitter.com/2cxpCdpECo — KC Election Board (@KCElectionBd) March 10, 2020

The error could be written off as a simple mistake if it hadn’t occurred in a state already riddled with voter suppression issues. Lucas told The Kansas City Star that residents in the region are not strangers to “voting irregularities.” “I think the biggest threat to American elections is that American’s[sic] can’t vote too often,” he said. Missourians encountered everything from broken voting machines to confusion regarding a mistakenly believed requirement for all voters to show photo ID on Election Day in 2018, according to NPR affiliate KCUR. A law that went into effect in June 2017 enabled voters to provide another form of ID such as a utility bill or bank statement if they don't have a state-issued ID, the radio station reported. And even still, if they can’t provide alternate identification, voters have the option of casting a provisional ballot, election officials said.

“In St. Charles, there is a pattern of voting precincts that are demanding photo IDs from voters, thereby violating the permanent injunction from the October 23 court decision about voter ID law,” attorney Jennifer Kovar told The St. Louis American in 2018. “Voters who are savvy are challenging the poll workers and at least two have reported that poll workers have said they don’t care about the law.” It’s no surprise that St. Charles County, which is about 40 miles northwest of St. Louis, is experiencing similar issues again this year. “Voters are being asked for Photo ID which is improper,” said Kristen Clarke, president of the National Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Voters have many ways to ID themselves including thru a utility bill, bank statement or paycheck containing their name and address — and signing an affidavit. Call 866-OUR-VOTE for help.”