By Frank Morris
Kansas City – Missouri Democrats are celebrating a state Supreme Court ruling blocking a photo ID law they say would have disenfranchised thousands. State Republicans call today's ruling an attack on free elections.
Supporters of the law say that if showing a photo ID is necessary to cash a check or buy liquor, it shouldn't be a big deal to produce one at the polls. But the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that, for the 200-thousand or so registered voters who lack such identification, getting it posed an unconstitutional burden on their right to vote. Civil rights lawyer Denise Lieberman says the many of these voters, who are disproportionately poor or elderly, would have had to order a replacement birth certificate, and in Missouri, that costs money.
This law would require citizens to expend funds in order to acquire the requisite id needed to allow an already eligible voter to cast a ballot
The Missouri Republican party, which strongly favored the law, blamed the 6-1 ruling on activist judges .