Mo. Legislature Pushes Voter ID forward, Silences Opposing Voter Testimony

When a diverse array of voters and advocates showed up on February 7 to a Missouri House Elections Committee hearing on a voter ID bill package, they hoped the Committee would hear their concerns for enacting a regressive law that is similar to one that had been declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court in 2006.

Several individuals and groups–including students who rose before dawn that day in order to make the commute to the capital–were prepared to testify on how enacting a voter ID bill in Missouri could hurt voters and the state’s budget. Opponents of the bill included members of Missouri communities, as well as AARP, ACLU, Advancement Project, Grass Roots Organizing, League of Women Voters, Project Vote, Rock the Vote, Disability Resource Council, Fair Elections Legal Network, among others.

Though the committee had two hours to deliberate over voter ID bill HB 329 and the constitutional amendment that accompanies it, HJR 14, the Committee prevented the hearing from opening the floor to testimonials, postponing the testimony to Tuesday, February 15.

“Not only does the legislation fail to contain sufficient safeguards to protect the right to vote for already-registered and eligible voters who lack sufficient identification, it is unnecessary, expensive and irresponsible in the midst of the budget crisis we are facing in this state,” said Denise Lieberman, Senior Attorney and Missouri Voter Protection Advocate in a Columbia Missourian report. “Missouri already requires voters to present identification. In fact, Missouri’s voter identification law is already stricter than corresponding laws in more than 50 percent of the states.”

In addition to the continuation of the hearing for the House bills, the Missouri Senate floor will hear voter ID bill package, SJR 2 and SB 3 today at 4 p.m.