Supporters of the current version of House Bill 1631 portray it as compromise that would be less onerous on voters who lack a government-issued photo ID than previous versions. That might be true, but House Democrats have absolutely no confidence that this version of photo ID will long remain law if enacted.
For 11 straight years, majority Republicans have sought to impose an unnecessary photo voter ID requirement for the sole purpose of disenfranchising large numbers of Democratic-leaning voters. They are not about to give up that goal.
If the accompanying constitutional amendment that is necessary to give a photo voter ID requirement legal effect is ratified, it is virtually guaranteed that next year the Republican legislative majority will swiftly replace this so-called compromise with the strict legislation that they have long desired to deprive many Missourians of their fundamental right to vote.
