Missouri Republicans want new photo ID law for voters, but lawsuit could follow
For the third year in a row, Missouri Republicans will push to reinstate photo identification requirements for voting, attempting once again to impose rules that can survive a lawsuit.
The GOP-controlled General Assembly has been trying to pass photo voter ID legislation since shortly after the Missouri Supreme Court largely struck down the state’s previous law in January 2020. The effort has frustrated Democrats and voting rights advocates who warn the rules erect barriers to casting a ballot.
Missouri requires voters to show identification and following the court ruling currently accepts a range of ID beyond driver’s licenses. Utility bills, student IDs, bank statements and other documents are all allowed.
Photo identification would again narrow the types of ID voters can show. Republicans say the rules are a necessary precaution against fraud and often cast the requirements as encouraging people to get a photo ID that can be used for other things in society.
Denise Lieberman, director and general counsel of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, warned that a strict requirement of a non-expired ID with a photo, issued by Missouri or the federal government, would be “patently unconstitutional.”
“We will file a lawsuit. It will be struck down,” Lieberman said.
House and Senate committees each held hearings Tuesday, signaling legislators’ intent to again advance bills to bring back the photo ID rules. Lawmakers weren’t considering specific legislation, but referenced House Bill 334, which passed the House in February then stalled in the Senate.
The bill restores photo ID requirements, but also eliminates provisions that the Missouri secretary of state use advertisements and public service announcements to inform voters about the new rules.
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, told lawmakers a photo ID law would help give people more faith in elections. Ashcroft is pushing the General Assembly to pass a range of measures next year, including prohibiting local election officials from helping voters fix mistakes on absentee ballots.
“I support a photo ID requirement in the state law that makes sure we know who is voting without turning away any registered voter,” Ashcroft said.
Prior to the Supreme Court decision, Missouri lawmakers had approved a three-option voting system: vote with an approved photo ID like a state-issued driver’s license; vote with a non-photo ID and sign an affidavit under the penalty of perjury, or cast a provisional ballot. In 2016, 63 percent of Missourians voted to implement the measure.
The Supreme Court found that the affidavit’s language was unconstitutional. The majority opinion described it as “contradictory” and “misleading.”
House Bill 334 would eliminate the affidavit requirement altogether. Instead, voters without photo ID would be able to cast a provisional ballot. Local election officials would use signature verification to determine whether to count the ballot.
