© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Missouri House committee passes photo ID bills

Bill Greenblatt | UPI | File photo

Two companion measures that would require Missouri voters to show photo identification at the polls have been passed by a House committee.

The first one, HJR 53, is a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow for a photo ID requirement, and would need to first be passed by Missouri voters.

The other, HB 1631, is a bill that would implement the details of the photo ID requirement. They include limiting acceptable forms of identification to the following:

  • A non-expired Missouri driver's license
  • A non-expired state ID card
  • Any non-expired document issued by the U.S. government or the state of Missouri that contains the name and photograph of the individual, i.e., a passport or armed services ID


Anyone who shows up at the polls without one of the above forms of photo identification would have to use a provisional ballot to vote, which would not be counted unless that voter returns with a photo ID within three days of the election.

Credit Bill Greenblatt | UPI | File photo

No one testified in favor of the two measures during the hearing, but several Republican committee members, including DanShaulof Imperial, spoke up, saying the change is needed to combat voter impersonation fraud.

"We need to make sure that we protect one vote per person, and that it's effective," Shaul said.  "I think we need to maybe work on how we make sure that people get that one vote, but once you get that vote, we cannot allow other people to water down that vote."

Opponents, including JayHardenbrookof AARP, testified that it would disenfranchise the elderly and several other groups of Missouri voters.

"The disenfranchisement is so much larger than the potential, the possible, the imagined wrong, that this doesn't make sense," Hardenbrook said.  "It's a solution in search of a problem, and it creates many, many more problems than it could ever possibly solve."

The House committee on elections passed the bill and joint resolution by identical votes of 8-3, with all eight "yes" votes coming from Republicans and all three "no" votes coming from Democrats.

Normally, House and Senate committees don't hold votes on bills the same day that public hearings for those bills are conducted. But House elections committee chair Sue Entlicher, R-Bolivar, said she was asked to do so by Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff.

Richardson did not respond to an interview request asking about the same-day vote, but a House communications official confirmed that Richardson asked Entlicher to make the bills a priority.

Entlicher did say after Tuesday's meeting that voting the bills out on the same day would move them quickly to the next committee and possibly enable them to be heard on the House floor as early as next week.  The second set of hearings is scheduled Thursday before the House select committee on state and local governments.

A similar photo ID law was passed 10 years ago and signed by Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, but it was tossed out by the Missouri Supreme Court.  Another bill was passed by the legislature in 2011, but was vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat.

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter:  @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
Marshall Griffin
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.