A Missouri judge has ruled that a law requiring voters to show a photo ID before casting their regular ballots is constitutional. The decision came from Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem, who said the law stands, thanks to a 2016 change in the state’s constitution allowing lawmakers to set up photo ID rules for voting.
Missouri’s Republican Secretary of State, Jay Ashcroft, praised the ruling, saying that having a photo ID helps keep elections secure. Supporters of the law, like Ashcroft, believe it helps prevent voter fraud and boosts public trust in election results. However, critics argue that some voters, especially older people and those with disabilities, can struggle to get the photo ID they need.
In Missouri, people who don’t have a government-issued photo ID can still vote by casting a provisional ballot. If they bring a photo ID later that day or if officials can verify their signature, their vote will be counted. The state also offers a free photo ID for those who need one.
Groups like the Missouri NAACP and the League of Women Voters, along with some individual voters, challenged the law in 2022, claiming it makes voting harder for some people. They argued that getting the necessary ID can be difficult and that provisional ballots might not always be counted.
Judge Beetem dismissed the lawsuit at first, saying that the individuals who sued didn’t show enough evidence that they were personally harmed by the law. Even after the plaintiffs added another voter to the case, Beetem ruled that there was no real proof their ballots would be rejected. He pointed out that most provisional ballots are counted, and those rejected for signature mismatches are rare.
Beetem concluded that the photo ID rule helps protect voting by preventing hard-to-detect fraud. But the League of Women Voters disagrees. Its president, Marilyn McLeod, said the law makes it harder, not easier, for people to vote. She added that there’s no evidence of voter impersonation in Missouri, so the law doesn’t make elections safer.
This law also includes a provision that allows people to vote in person two weeks before an election for any reason, which was a compromise negotiated by Senate Democrats.