Missouri’s photo voter ID law upheld by Cole County judge

A Cole County judge has rejected the latest lawsuit seeking to strike down Missouri’s photo ID requirement. 

The law passed in 2022 requires voters to show a valid photo ID at the polls, and if they don’t have one, they can vote a provisional ballot that won’t be counted unless they return with a photo ID before the polls close. 

The NAACP is appealing the ruling. 

The NAACP and the League of Women Voters both criticized the decision, saying there’s no evidence of voter impersonation in Missouri and that there are “significant burdens” to obtaining the type of photo identification the law requires. 

An earlier version of the photo ID law was tossed out by the Missouri Supreme Court in 2006, and in 2020 another photo ID law was stripped of its provisional ballot rules and was found to have “constitutional concerns.”