Missouri court permanently blocks key part of voter suppression law

By Associated Press -January 17, 2020 3:19 PM

The court called the law 'misleading' and 'contradictory.'

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday permanently blocked a central portion of a 2016 voter identification law that it said had required a "misleading" and "contradictory" sworn statement from people lacking a photo ID.

The 5-2 ruling upholds a decision by a lower court judge, who had blocked the affidavit requirement from being used in the 2018 general election. It had remained on hold since then.

Missouri is one of several states where Republican-led legislatures have passed voter photo ID laws touted as a means of preventing election fraud. In Missouri's case, the state law was accompanied by a constitutional amendment, approved by 63% of voters in November 2016, that authorized the implementation of a photo ID law.

Voter photo ID laws have been opposed by Democrats, who contend they can disenfranchise poor, elderly, disabled, and minority voters who are less likely to have photo IDs.

https://americanindependent.com/missouri-voter-photo-id-law-blocked-state-supreme-court/