In political circles, the eyes of Missouri (and, to some extent, the nation) are on the state Supreme Court, where the fate of Missouri’s Voter ID Law – and, many suspect, the outcome of crucial elections on November 7 – will be decided.
Senate Bill 1014, which was signed into state law by Governor Matt Blunt on June 14, was declared unconstitutional last week by Cole County Circuit Judge Richard G. Callahan, in a ruling on two separate lawsuits against the legislation that had subsequently been combined.
Among other less controversial changes in state voting requirements, the new law required that voter “identification must include the individual’s name and photograph” and must have been issued by one of several governmental agencies.
In his order, Judge Callahan wrote: “Unlike the photo ID laws in most other states, the Missouri law has few real alternatives to a state-issued ID, and places most of the burden on the citizen voter.”
Deciding in favor of the NAACP, Give Missourians a Raise Inc. and six citizen plaintiffs, Callahan ruled that the law was an unconstitutional burden on voters, because much paperwork needed to acquire an identification that meets the law’s requirements entails a fee to the voter.
Ed Martin, chief of staff for Governor Matt Blunt, told the American that the governor considered the ruling a “disappointment.” State Senator Delbert Scott, the chief sponsor of SB 1014, told the American an appeal would be filed with the state Supreme Court this week.
We agree with U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, when he said, “I commend Justice Callahan for his decision, which is a victory for the Constitution.”
We also agree with Mary Ratliff, president of the Missouri State Conference-NAACP, when she said, “This law was especially burdensome for low-income voters. Striking it down was the right thing to do.”
Upholding this ruling, in turn, will be the proper and just thing for the justices of the state Supreme Court to do, when the appeal eventually ends up on their docket.
“The photo ID burden placed on the voter may seem minor or inconsequential to the mainstream of our society,” Callahan ruled.
“However for the elderly, the poor, the undereducated, or otherwise disadvantaged, the burden can be great if not insurmountable, and it is those very people outside the mainstream of society who are the least equipped to bear the costs or navigate the many bureaucracies necessary to obtain the required documentation.”
The prose is crisp and clear. The justice is evident. The duplicity of the Republican leadership in Missouri in advancing this legislation – which obviously disenfranchises voters – stands plainly revealed.
This legislation’s primary goal was not to hamper voter fraud. It was designed to interfere with the right to vote of several marginalized constituencies – new immigrants, the poor, the elderly, the disabled, many of them black – whose interests are championed more by the Democratic Party. This sham law was pushed by the dominant Republican majorities in the state Legislature as part of a nationwide GOP strategy. It was intended by cynical Republicans to assist the threatened incumbency of U.S. Senator Jim Talent, whose long-standing adherence to the agenda of President George W. Bush is widely expected to hurt him at the polls on November 7, where he will face a Democratic challenge from state Auditor Claire McCaskill.
If reinstated, the Voter ID Law would join the relaxation of campaign finance limits and denial of straight-party voting as Republican-devised barriers to more broad voter participation in the electoral process.
The justices of the state Supreme Court will not concern themselves with political infighting, in the event that they rule on an appeal – and they need not. They need only to consult the Missouri Constitution to uphold Justice Callahan’s ruling and help to keep the right to vote in this state sacred and protected – on November 7 and beyond.