Photo ID for Voters Rejected by Judge

By Tim Hoover
The Kansas City Star

Friday 15 September 2006

State's Republicans lambaste the decision, while Democrats applaud.

Jefferson City - A Cole County judge Thursday tossed out a new law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, saying the measure violated Missourians' fundamental right to vote.

In his ruling, Circuit Judge Richard Callahan said that unlike photo ID laws in other states, Missouri's law offers voters few alternatives to getting a state-issued ID, placing most of the burden to comply with the requirement on voters.

"The photo ID burden placed on the voter may seem minor or inconsequential to the mainstream of our society for whom automobiles, driver's licenses and even passports are a natural part of everyday life," Callahan wrote. "However, for the elderly, the poor, the undereducated or otherwise disadvantaged, the burden can be great if not insurmountable."

Officials with Attorney General Jay Nixon's office, which defended the law, said they were reviewing the ruling and would not comment on a possible appeal. The case would go directly to the Missouri Supreme Court, if the ruling is appealed.

Reaction to the ruling came swiftly and broke down along party lines, with Republicans, who supported the law, decrying the ruling. Democrats, who opposed the measure, cheered the decision.

"I am disappointed in Judge Callahan's ruling, and encourage the defendants to appeal," said Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, who signed the law. "This is a constitutionally sound law that will help improve Missourians' confidence in the elections process and help combat those who attempt to manipulate the system."

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, a Democrat, said the ruling affirmed her concern "that the law clearly jeopardizes the constitutional voting rights of many Missourians."

The Missouri Republican Party quickly accused Nixon, a Democrat, of a "lackluster defense" of the law. Scott Holste, a spokesman for Nixon, called that claim "absurd" and pointed out that a group of interveners representing the Republican sponsor of the bill also defended the law.

Callahan's ruling came in response to two lawsuits challenging the law. One was filed by Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields and other Democratic officeholders and another was filed by the Missouri Democratic Party. Separately, a lawsuit challenging the law is pending in federal court.

The new law would require voters in the Nov. 7 general election to present a driver's license or certain other forms of government-issued photo identification. Under the previous law, voters had to present identification, but it could have been a copy of an electric bill, a bank statement, a paycheck, a voter ID card issued by local election authorities or one of various other forms of identification.

The new law says that for all elections before Nov. 1, 2008, voters without proper identification can cast provisional ballots if two election judges know the voter or if the voter presents another form of ID, such as an out-of-state driver's license, student ID, utility bill, paycheck or other government document. After Nov. 1, 2008, voters without proper photo IDs could cast provisional ballots, but their votes would not count unless they came back later and showed photo IDs.

A separate law requires Missourians to present a passport or a copy of a birth certificate to obtain a driver's license or other state-issued photo ID.

These documents usually cost money to obtain. Callahan said the fact that voters had to comply with this law first before they could vote violated their rights under the Missouri Constitution.

Proponents of the photo ID law, who said it would help prevent voter fraud, pointed out that it required the state to issue free non-driver's license photo ID cards to those unable to obtain driver's licenses.

"The fact that the state does not charge for the non-driver license itself ... does not avoid the constitutional issue or economic reality that voters will have to ‘buy' numerous government documents to get the ‘free' photo ID to qualify for the privilege of voting," Callahan wrote.

Voting is a right, not a privilege, the judge wrote.

Callahan also agreed with opponents of the law that it violated the Hancock provision of the Missouri Constitution that prohibits the state from imposing unfunded mandates on local governments.

Also Thursday, a federal judge in Georgia blocked the state from enforcing its voter ID law during special elections next week. Georgia's law requires voters show a valid form of government-issued ID. If they don't have one, voters can obtain a free voter ID card.