A ruling striking down the Voter Photo ID law will be appealed. Senator Delbert Scott (R-Lowry City), the sponsor of the bill during this year’s legislative session, says the case hasn’t ended with the ruling handed down by Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan. Scott says he’s disappointed with the broad scope of the ruling. Callahan struck down several aspects of the bill, saying they violated the state constitution by infringing on the fundamental right to vote. The only bright spot Scott finds in the ruling is that Callahan dismissed suggestions that legislators pushed the bill, because they wanted to keep certain people from voting. The lawsuit combined two complaints, one of which contained a claim that Republicans pushed the bill through the legislature to suppress Democrat votes, especially ballots cast by black voters. Scott says he has been talking with his attorney. He says no legal strategy has been determined yet. Both sides in the lawsuit predicted the legal challenge will eventually end up before the State Supreme Court.
