Friday 19th April 2024

missouri-capitol-building-4-2-21

Two years after the Missouri Supreme Court struck down a similar measure, the state’s Republican-led lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill that would require residents to have photo identification to cast a ballot.

A news release says the requirement, part of a larger elections bill, passed the House on a party-line 97-47 vote. It now goes to Republican Governor Mike Parson.

Missouri was one of the first states that tried to enact strict voter ID requirements, but the effort was long tangled in legal challenges.

In the new measure, if a voter doesn’t have a photo ID with them, they could cast a provisional ballot, which would only be counted if they returned to the polling place with a required ID or if election officials verified their signature.

Among its other provisions, the bill would allow the secretary of state, currently Republican Jay Ashcroft, to review the list of registered voters in any jurisdiction. And electronic voting machines would be banned after 2024, except in cases where a voter with a disability cannot use a paper ballot. Those machines, however, would be required to have a paper trail for a potential election review.

In addition, local election authorities can no longer accept funding from outside organizations — language targeted at Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, who funded grant money that was distributed to election offices throughout the country.

Missouri lawmakers also stripped all of the state’s provisions that made it easier for individuals to vote during the early days of the pandemic.

Democrats were able to secure some of their election-related priorities, including a two-week window for no-reason early absentee voting.