COLUMBIA, Mo. — A Missouri law mandating that voters present government-issued photo identification to cast their regular ballots has been upheld as constitutional by a judge from the Cole County Circuit Court. This ruling, made by Judge Jon Beetem, supports a law established through a 2016 constitutional amendment approved by voters that empowered state lawmakers to implement such ID requirements.
The state’s Republican Secretary of State, Jay Ashcroft, expressed gratitude for the ruling, asserting that having a photo ID is necessary to uphold a secure voting system. Proponents of the photo ID law, including Ashcroft, argue that it serves as a tool to prevent voter fraud while boosting public trust in the electoral process. However, critics, including advocates for voting rights, contend that obtaining the necessary documents for a photo ID can be particularly difficult for older citizens and individuals with disabilities.
According to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, 36 states have some form of voter ID requirement, with a minimum of 21 states specifically asking for photo identification.
Under the framework of Missouri’s law, voters who lack a government-issued photo ID may still cast provisional ballots. These ballots will be counted if the individual returns later on the same day with the required ID or if election officials can confirm their signatures match.
The law also includes a provision obligating the state to offer free photo ID cards to those who do not possess one and wish to vote. In 2022, the Missouri branch of the NAACP, alongside the League of Women Voters and two individual voters, filed a lawsuit challenging the law. The plaintiffs claimed that the barriers faced when trying to obtain updated and accurate government-issued photo IDs were significant, particularly for certain demographics.
Judge Beetem initially dismissed this lawsuit, stating that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate a specific and concrete injury or legal interest necessary to challenge the photo ID regulation. In response, the Missouri ACLU and the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition introduced an additional plaintiff to the case and requested a re-evaluation of the law’s constitutionality.
In his ruling, Judge Beetem pointed out that all individual plaintiffs had successfully voted since the law was implemented, concluding that their fears regarding provisional ballots being rejected were unfounded and conjectural. He noted that the evidence presented at trial suggested low rejection rates for provisional ballots, especially those related to signature mismatches.
Judge Beetem ultimately reasoned that the statute surrounding photo identification helps safeguard the fundamental right to vote by deterring hard-to-detect forms of voter fraud. The attorneys representing the plaintiffs have indicated their intention to appeal this ruling.
“The League believes that the state should be facilitating, rather than complicating, the process for Missourians to exercise their essential voting rights,” stated Marilyn McLeod, President of the Missouri League of Women Voters. She emphasized that there is no documented case of voter impersonation in Missouri, and thus, such restrictions do not enhance the safety or security of the electoral process.
In addition to the photo ID requirement, the law enacted in 2022 allows for in-person voting for any reason two weeks prior to an election, marking a compromise reached through negotiations with Senate Democrats.