Missouri sued over voter ID law News
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Missouri sued over voter ID law

[JURIST] A new lawsuit [complaint, PDF] filed Wednesday challenges the laws [text, PDF] pertaining to photo identification requirements for voters in the state of Missouri.

The challenge was brought on behalf of Mildred Gutierrez, a 70-year-old Missouri resident who, in order to vote in the November 2017 election, was forced to sign a sworn statement under penalty of perjury because she does not have a valid form of photo ID.

Priorities USA [advocacy website], a national progressive organization that advocates for voting rights, brought the complaint, arguing that the law is unconstitutional and creates undue burden for voters lacking the required identification.

Though the law enables people without photo ID to cast provisional [PDF] ballots under a sworn statement, the lawsuit claims that the required statements contain “confusing and threatening provisions that discourage qualified voters from attempting to exercise their right to vote without photo ID.” The defendants are Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft [official website] and the state of Missouri.

This lawsuit comes only a month after the court dismissed a separate case against Missouri’s voter ID law. This complaint [text], brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the NAACP [advocacy websites], alleged that the state is deficient in providing voter education about the law and voter IDs. Missouri is just the most recent state to be targeted by advocacy groups in regard to voter ID requirements. Just last month the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa sued [JURIST report] the state for particular burden on minority voters. Additionally, similar suits have been brought in the states of Indiana and Florida.