Missouri Republicans send voter ID bill to Gov. Parson’s desk
Missouri lawmakers on Thursday sent to Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s desk a sweeping elections bill that would require voters to show a photo ID at the ballot box.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Simmons, a Washington Republican, passed the lower chamber by a vote of 97-47. It would also prohibit touchscreen voting machines after 2024 and allow the secretary of state to audit voter rolls.
The wide-ranging legislation by the GOP-controlled legislature follows nearly two years of false claims from former President Donald Trump about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Democrats derided the bill as an attempt to stifle voting rights. They argued that the voter ID restrictions would hurt people who don’t have forms of photo identification, including minorities and seniors.
“People have fought and died for this right to vote,” said Rep. Joe Adams, a University City Democrat. “This bill is an attempt to restrict their participation in the process.”
Republicans have long pushed for voter ID in Missouri, but a previous voter ID law was struck down in 2020 by the Missouri Supreme Court.
“Voter ID is not racist, no matter how many times you say it,” Rep. Nick Schroer, an O’Fallon Republican, wrote on Twitter. “How could it theoretically be ‘racist’ while requiring vaccine passports, which you needed an id to get said vaccine to begin with, is not racist?”
Democrats, due to an amendment added by Sen. John Rizzo, a Kansas City Democrat, were able to add to the bill a provision that allows no-excuse absentee voting.
