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ACLU suing to stop new Voter ID law
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By Bob Watson
News Tribune
The legal test is coming for Gov. Matt Blunt and others who believe that Missouri's new voter identification law will be upheld by the courts.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Eastern Missouri announced Monday morning that it is filing a lawsuit in the Cole County Circuit Court, challenging the new law that Blunt signed a month ago.
The state Constitution says all Missourians who are at least 18 years old and are registered in “the political subdivision in which they offer to vote are entitled to vote at all elections by the people.”
But, beginning in November, the new law requires election officials to provide provisional ballots for voters who don't show a proper photo identification. The ID must be issued by the Missouri or federal governments, and include a driver's license, military ID or passport.
Provisional ballots are counted only after election officials determine they were cast by properly registered voters.
“Our overall concern is that the new law is going to leave people out who want to vote, who deserve to vote and who are qualified to vote,” said Anthony E. Rothert, the St. Louis-based ACLU chapter's legal director, in a news release announcing the lawsuit.
The agency argues that “thousands of Missouri residents will be unable to secure the extensive documentation required to qualify for the newly required ID card and any associated fees will prohibit these same people from meeting the new requirement to vote,” the news release added.
The legal grounds for the lawsuit focus on Missouri's voter-approved Hancock constitutional Amendment, which requires the state to pay for the additional costs of programs it tells local governments to carry out.
Local officials have estimated additional costs ranging from $16,000 in Laclede County to $470,000 in Jackson County to implement the new law, the ACLU said, including hiring additional election judges and producing more provisional ballots.
Cole County Clerk Marvin Register said Monday he has yet to estimate the new law's costs, but expects to do so after learning more about it at the state clerks' meeting next month.
“The dictates of the (new Voter ID) law will drain general resources of local governments and cost taxpayers money,” said Brenda Jones, the ACLU's executive director for the Eastern Missouri chapter.
The ACLU said plaintiffs in the suit included St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley, Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields and Jackson County's government.
When Blunt signed the new law on June 14, he said the right to vote is “foundational to our form of government, (but) that right is undermined whenever fraud occurs.”
Attorney General Jay Nixon's office on Monday declined to comment on the lawsuit until it is filed and they have had a chance to read it, spokesman Scott Holste said.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Eastern Missouri announced Monday morning that it is filing a lawsuit in the Cole County Circuit Court, challenging the new law that Blunt signed a month ago.
The state Constitution says all Missourians who are at least 18 years old and are registered in “the political subdivision in which they offer to vote are entitled to vote at all elections by the people.”
But, beginning in November, the new law requires election officials to provide provisional ballots for voters who don't show a proper photo identification. The ID must be issued by the Missouri or federal governments, and include a driver's license, military ID or passport.
Provisional ballots are counted only after election officials determine they were cast by properly registered voters.
“Our overall concern is that the new law is going to leave people out who want to vote, who deserve to vote and who are qualified to vote,” said Anthony E. Rothert, the St. Louis-based ACLU chapter's legal director, in a news release announcing the lawsuit.
The agency argues that “thousands of Missouri residents will be unable to secure the extensive documentation required to qualify for the newly required ID card and any associated fees will prohibit these same people from meeting the new requirement to vote,” the news release added.
The legal grounds for the lawsuit focus on Missouri's voter-approved Hancock constitutional Amendment, which requires the state to pay for the additional costs of programs it tells local governments to carry out.
Local officials have estimated additional costs ranging from $16,000 in Laclede County to $470,000 in Jackson County to implement the new law, the ACLU said, including hiring additional election judges and producing more provisional ballots.
Cole County Clerk Marvin Register said Monday he has yet to estimate the new law's costs, but expects to do so after learning more about it at the state clerks' meeting next month.
“The dictates of the (new Voter ID) law will drain general resources of local governments and cost taxpayers money,” said Brenda Jones, the ACLU's executive director for the Eastern Missouri chapter.
The ACLU said plaintiffs in the suit included St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley, Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields and Jackson County's government.
When Blunt signed the new law on June 14, he said the right to vote is “foundational to our form of government, (but) that right is undermined whenever fraud occurs.”
Attorney General Jay Nixon's office on Monday declined to comment on the lawsuit until it is filed and they have had a chance to read it, spokesman Scott Holste said.
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