Missouri Senate Democrats and Republicans have reached an agreement over a proposal that would require voters to show ID at the ballot box. Under a version of the legislation adopted Monday, if voters don’t present a photo ID, they would sign a statement under penalty of perjury attesting that they are who they say they are. The voter would then have to present some form of ID, such as a university-issued ID or a utility bill. “The bill is requirement of photo ID, and the statement is a way for them to be able to cast a normal ballot,” said state Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit. “But we want to make sure that they know it’s the law of the land that they have to get an ID.”
The bill also includes provisions for the state to pay for IDs. A provisional ballot could be cast and would count if the voter could later prove identity.
An earlier version of the measure advanced by the House also included funds for IDs and would have included some wiggle room for voters without IDs. But the exemptions weren’t as encompassing as the language adopted Monday.
Opponents of Missouri’s voter ID proposal argue it could disenfranchise and confuse an estimated 220,000 registered voters without a current ID. But proponents say requiring ID at the polls is necessary to stamp out any in-person fraud that may occur.
Full Article: Agreement reached in Missouri Senate over contentious voter ID proposal | Political Fix | stltoday.com.