Judge Rules In Favor Of Missouri Law Requiring Photo ID To Vote

A judge on Monday upheld a Missouri law mandating that voters show photo identification at the polls to cast a ballot. 

Cole County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Jon Beetem ruled that multiple groups that alleged the state’s voter ID laws were unconstitutional “failed to prove their case.” Beetem said Missouri’s law was a “reasonable” deterrent for voter fraud and did not violate the rights of those who challenged the measure. 

“Requiring photo identification at the polls is a reasonable way to deter potential voter impersonation,” the judge wrote. “It is not irrational or arbitrary for the State to enact laws that can deter voting fraud, such as voter impersonation.” 

The law, signed in 2022 and in effect for the 2024 presidential election, was challenged by the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and multiple Missouri residents who claimed it imposed a burden on their right to vote. They argued the law would prevent many eligible residents from voting. 

Beetem was unconvinced, saying that Missouri makes it easy for people qualified to vote to acquire photo identification. 

“The State of Missouri provides free photo identification to individuals who wish to obtain it for the purpose of voting,” he wrote. “There was no evidence that any of the individual voter Plaintiffs were asked to pay money to obtain a qualifying photo identification from the State after asking for a photo ID in order to vote.” 

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He added that “any ‘harms’ to the organization resulting from the law are self-inflicted” and based on speculation.

The judge ruled that these concerns do not trump the security the ID requirements bring to the election. 

“The State of Missouri has a compelling interest in promoting confidence among the electorate that the people who have voted in an election are the individuals who are registered and presented themselves at the polls.”

The ruling was celebrated by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who defended the law in court. 

“We went to court, we put on the evidence, and radical activists working to undermine our elections FAILED,” Bailey posted on X. “This is a HUGE win for election security.”

The order came the same day that another judge in Missouri upheld the state’s law banning transgender procedures on minors.