Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) says compromise is not an option on a bill that would set up the framework to allow voter photo ID. Democrats have promised to stall action on any voter photo ID measures and Nasheed gave a glimpse of that when she held the floor for most of Tuesday’s three hour debate.

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis)

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis)

“If you go back and google voter ID laws, state after state after state within the last four months have ruled it unconstitutional,” said Nasheed. “This is a horrible piece of legislation. It needs to go down in flames. It’s not even worth the ink it’s printed on this paper. This is about voter suppression, not voter fraud. Let’s just be clear here.”

Democrats contend that the bill would take away the voting rights of thousands of Missourians who can’t possess an ID. Republicans argue that requiring an ID at the polls would prevent election fraud.

Senator Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph) says he has a compromise, but Nasheed disagrees.

Senator Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph)

Senator Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph)

“What I have tried to do here is to take a bill that I thought, to a degree suppressed the vote, and make it better. All they have to do is they have to say I don’t have the ID. They sign and then they can get the ID and a birth certificate for free,” said Schaaf.

“The fiscally conservative Republicans are now in the business of buying IDs? When did we get in the business of purchasing IDs,” asked Nasheed.

The Senate set the proposal aside without a vote but could come back to it.

A Senate committee Tuesday passed a House bill that would ask voters if the constitution should be changed to require an ID to vote.