A state constitutional amendment that would clear the way for a photo identification requirement at Missouri polls will not appear on this year’s ballot, the secretary of state’s office said. The Republican-led Missouri Legislature passed a proposed constitutional amendment last year that would have allowed separate legislation to require voters to show government-issued photo identification and to permit an advanced voting period. Lawmakers wrote their own ballot language, but Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce struck down the summary this spring after concluding the statement was insufficient. Joyce in her ruling allowed lawmakers to revise the ballot summary, but the Legislature adjourned last week without doing so. State elections officials told the Jefferson City News Tribune that means the proposal will not appear on the ballot.
“Since the Legislature failed to pass new ballot language after the court vacated the original language, this proposal won’t go before the voters in November,” said Ryan Hobart, a spokesman for the Missouri secretary of state’s office.
The proposed ballot summary rejected by Joyce read: “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to adopt the Voter Protection Act and allow the General Assembly to provide by general law for advance voting prior to election day, voter photo identification requirements, and voter requirements based on whether one appears to vote in person or by absentee ballot?”
Full Article: Missouri voter photo ID measure kept off ballot – Waynesville, MO – Waynesville Daily Guide.