By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri voters will have to show photo identification to cast a ballot in the November 8th General Election.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft defends the change to require photo identification, saying it’s part of the effort to make Missouri elections accessible, secure, and credible.
“Photo ID, government-issued photo ID, is a great way for some people to have more confidence in the process,” Ashcroft tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “It’s also a great way if someone does vote illegally or votes both in Missouri and in Florida, like we saw with a couple of people in 2020, it allows us to prosecute them for that as we should.”
Ashcroft defends the requirement, justifying photo identification as one of the goals of election officials.
“It harkens back to we want to make sure that we have accessibility, security and we have credibility,” according to Ashcroft. “And we wanted to layer in things. As long as we made sure, first and foremost, that every registered voter could vote, we also wanted to make sure we made the election secure and people would believe the results.”
Ashcroft denies allegations by Democrats and others that the ID requirement will suppress the vote of minorities, the elderly, and others.
“They’ve sued us multiple times. They’ve made all sorts of allegations to the press. They’ve made all sorts of allegations at rallies. But, when they had to swear to it in the court of law, they’ve never been able to point to a single person that wouldn’t be able to vote,” asserts Ashcroft.
A judge in Jefferson City has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the requirement.
Cole County Judge Jon Beetem's order on Wednesday means that voters without a photo ID will have to file a provisional ballot in the November election. The provisional ballot will only be counted if the voter returns later that day with a photo ID or if election officials verify their signatures.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two women, but Beetem wrote that neither “has alleged a specific, concrete, non-speculative injury or legally protectable interest in challenging the photo ID requirement.”
Officials with the groups that challenged the voter ID law on behalf of the women called the ruling “procedural" and said it doesn't address the merits of their argument. They said the case will end up before the Missouri Supreme Court, which they said has twice previously struck down less-restrictive requirements.
“Missouri’s Constitution provides all Missourians with the fundamental right to vote,” a statement from the ACLU of Missouri and the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition said. “Voter ID restrictions disenfranchise Missourians, particularly people of color, people with disabilities, rural Missourians, voters with limited income, seniors and students.”
Missouri legislators revived voter photo ID after the Missouri Supreme Court overturned an earlier effort and approved a revised bill this past legislative session. Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, signed the bill into law.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.