Missourians Can Vote Without Photo ID, Judge Rules

ST. LOUIS, MO — Missouri voters who do not have a photo ID will no longer have to sign a sworn statement when they vote, according to a circuit court ruling issued Tuesday.

(See Also: 2018 Midterms Missouri Voter Guide)

A voter ID law passed last year means Missouri voters must show some form of identification to cast their ballots in the November 6 midterm elections. But that ID doesn't have to have a photo. A Missouri driver's license, military ID or passport remain the best options if you have them, but a paycheck, bank statement, college ID, utility bill or voter registration card will also work.

Voters without any form of identification can still cast provisional ballots that will be counted only if the voter returns with a form of identification, or if election officials determine the voter's signature matches one on file with the state.

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The state had argued that voters without photo ID should be forced to sign affidavits attesting that they are who they say they are, but Cole County Judge Richard Callahan called those requirements "contradictory and misleading." He ordered state officials and local poll workers to accept IDs without photos on Tuesday without an additional requirements.

"Today's court decision provided needed clarity to local election officials," said Tony Rothert, ACLU of Missouri legal director. "The Missouri Secretary of State and others sowed confusion for voters this year. We know the real threat to democracy is that not all eligible voters vote. The people should question when the government makes it harder for citizens to exercise this basic right."

Experts say voter ID laws like Missouri's can only prevent in-person voter fraud, which is exceedingly rare. A study from the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute at New York University's School of Law, found only 31 cases of in-person voter fraud since the 2000 election, out of more than a billion ballots cast.

But voter ID laws do make it harder and more confusing to vote and disproportionately affect minority and working-class voters, according to the Washington Post.

Even before the voter ID law went into effect, Missouri had one of the lowest midterm election turnouts in the country. It remains to be seen how many Missourians will go to the polls in this year's election, which has already seen record numbers of early votes cast across the country. At least, in the states that allow early voting. Missouri doesn't.

Read the full ruling here:

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