Missouri election laws take effect Sunday; will impact November election
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
New Missouri election laws took effect Sunday that will impact the upcoming November midterm election.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said the changes are to make elections more secure, but some activist groups are saying it makes it more difficult for people to vote.
Governor Mike Parson signed Missouri House Bill 1878 on June 29. The first election the law will affect is Missouri's midterm on November 8.
The biggest changes voters are going to see under this law is the photo ID requirement. Under the new law, only specific forms of identification are allowed including a Missouri driver's license, Missouri non-driver's license, federal issued ID like a passport or military ID, or something else that's issued by the state of Missouri or federal government with an expiration date on it.
If someone does not have one of the accepted forms of ID, there is an alternative. People can vote by a blue provisional ballot. All provisional ballots will be counted after election day.
Another change for voters is a no-excuse absentee period, where anyone with an ID can cast their vote up to two weeks prior to the election.
Ashcroft said the changes are to help make voting more secure.
"We want people to trust the election," Ashcroft said.
The new law is receiving backlash from several activist organizations. The League of Women Voters and the Missouri NAACP sued to stop the law, saying the new law will hurt their work to register voters.
The ACLU said the law is, "an effort to discourage and disenfranchise voters and organizations’ by creating bureaucratic barriers... These barriers are most likely to impact voters of color, voters with disabilities, students, and seniors."
Ashcroft said everyone registered will still be able to cast their vote.
"It's false it does not make it harder to vote," Ashcroft said. "If they are registered they can vote. They are hearing people say this and that the truth is if you're registered go to your poling place on election day and you can vote."
Lawsuits have been filed challenging the law.
