Missouri Supreme Court to hear Voter ID case; state House candidates react

In the wake of the recent decision by Cole County judge Roger Callahan to declare the voter ID bill unconstitutional, the Missouri Supreme Court has stepped up and agreed to hear the case in an expedited manner.

The judge declared that the bill was an unconstitutional burden on the voters of Missouri and his ruling, unless overturned, bars the state from enforcing the law at the polls.

Callahan ruled that the law was especially burdensome to women and the poor, due to an older law requiring proof of residency in order to obtain a driver's license.

Local legislators are pleased to see that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

"I think a positive clarification will be made by the Missouri Supreme Court and will help to ensure the integrity and security of our voting system," said State Representative Billy Pat Wright (R-159).

"It needs to be clarified once and for all and I hope that it will be to the satisfaction of the people," he said.

Wright said there are some changes to be made to the bill next year, but didn't elaborate on what would be changed.

Wright's opposition, 'Coach' Boyce Wooley, has a slightly different opinion on the matter.

"I don't think there's much wrong with a law to prevent voter fraud," he said. "It's just not that big of a problem here."

Wooley expressed concerns with the speed with which the bill was pushed through. "They didn't give voters enough time," he said. "There should have been at least a year before it went into effect."

By pushing the bill through so quickly, Wooley feels like all they were doing was trying to push their agendas.

"They knew who was going to be affected by this bill," he said.

Last Thursday's ruling has forced all operations in conjunction with the law to halt. The Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) has had to cancel numerous appointments at nursing homes.

The DOR feels that they should have been allowed to continue operations as the case makes its way through the legal system in case Callahan's ruling is overturned.

With oral arguments set to go before Missouri's high court on Oct. 4, a ruling should come down in the following week either affirming Callahan's decision or striking it down and in effect putting the DOR back to work on a much more limited schedule.

To date the department has issued over 2,000 free non-driver licenses for voting purposes and still estimate some 138,000 lack the necessary identification to comply with the law.

Corey Noles can be reached via e-mail at cnoles@dailystatesman.com