The fight over voter ID law in Missouri

A Missouri judge on Tuesday blocked key portions of the state’s voter photo identification law, meaning some voters could find it easier to cast ballots in a November election headlined by a hotly contested U.S. Senate race.

The ruling bars election officials from enforcing a requirement that a voter lacking a valid photo ID sign a sworn statement while presenting some other form of identification in order to cast a regular ballot. It also prevents the state from advertising that a photo ID is required to vote.

The permanent injunction by Senior Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan takes effect immediately. But Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said he plans to ask that the ruling be put on hold while he appeals to a higher court.

[...]

Attorneys for Priorities USA, a Washington-based liberal advocacy group that sued on behalf of some Missouri voters, argued that more than 300,000 voters may lack valid photo identifications. As of last week, the state had issued free photo identification cards to 1,456 voters who requested them.

  TPM

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.