Missouri’s photo ID requirement for voting is still the law of the land.
Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem has rejected the latest lawsuit seeking to strike down Missouri’s photo ID requirement. The law passed in 2022 requires voters show a valid photo ID at the polls, and if they don’t have one, they can vote a provisional ballot that won’t be counted unless they return with a photo ID before the polls close. The only way a provisional ballot can be counted without photo identification is if the signature on the outside of the envelope matches the one on file with the local election authority.
The following forms of photo identification are to be accepted by poll workers in Missouri:
- A nonexpired Missouri driver’s license
- A nonexpired Missouri nondriver’s license
- A nonexpired or never expiring photo ID issued by any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Missouri National Guard, or the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs
The NAACP is appealing the ruling. The NAACP and the League of Women Voters both criticized the decision, saying there’s no evidence of voter impersonation in Missouri and that there are “significant burdens” to obtain the type of photo identification the law requires.
An earlier version of the photo ID law was tossed out by the Missouri Supreme Court in 2006, and in 2020 another photo ID law was stripped of its provisional ballot rules and was found to have “constitutional concerns.”
Copyright © 2024 · Missourinet