But we still need to make sure every vote counts!  Volunteer to monitor polls this election day. 

The Missouri Supreme Court, in a 6-1 opinion, affirmed the decision of Cole County Circuit Court Judge Richard Callahan that the law is unconstitutional.The court held that the law burdened the fundamental right to vote and violated the equal protection provisions of the Missouri Constitution.

You can access the full legal opinion online.

The decision means that registered voters will NOT be required to present one of the four forms of photo ID outlined in SB1014 this November. Voters will be able to show up at the polls this November and vote upon presenting one of the many types of identification spelled out in Section 115.427 of the Missouri Revised Statutes (including an out-of-state driver’s license, university ID, utility bill or bank statement, or personal knowledge of two election judges if the person lacks any ID). Voters can present any of the following:

(1) Identification issued by the state of Missouri, an agency of the state, or a local election authority of the state;

(2) Identification issued by the United States government;

(3) Identification issued by an institution of higher education, including a university, college, vocational and technical school, located within the state of Missouri;

(4) A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that contains the name and address of the voter;

(5) Driver’s license or state identification card issued by another state; or

(6) Other identification approved by the secretary of state under rules promulgated pursuant to subsection 3 of this section other identification approved by federal law.

Personal knowledge of the voter by two supervising election judges, one from each major political party, shall be acceptable voter identification upon the completion of a secretary of state-approved affidavit that is signed by both supervisory election judges and the voter that attests to the personal knowledge of the voter by the two supervisory election judges.

Special Thanks to Denise Lieberman and the Stetin Center for Law and Social Change for briefing JwJ and other grassroots organizations about the Voter ID bill and other voter protection efforts.