A Missouri judge is expected to decide this week if voters in the state will be required to present photo identification in order to cast their ballots in upcoming 2024 elections.
In October 2022, Cole County Presiding Judge Jon Beetem had already rejected a lawsuit brought by the Missouri League of Women Voters, NAACP and two voters challenging a law passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature making it mandatory that voters show photo identification to cast a regular ballot. Under the 2022 law, people within a valid government-issued photo ID are still able to submit provisional ballots, which will be counted if they return later that day with a photo ID or if election officials verify their signatures.
However, a third voter has since joined the lawsuit, and Beetem is presiding over a trial on the matter that began last week and is expected to continue until Wednesday.
Last year, Beetem ruled that neither of the first two voters “alleged a specific, concrete, non-speculative injury or legally protectable interest in challenging the photo ID requirement,” FOX 2 St. Louis reported. The new, third plaintiff is John O’Connor, a 90-year-old man from Columbia, Missouri, with poor vision and trouble walking.