We’ve got some fantastic news to share with you!

We received notice that Judge Callahan of the Cole County Circuit Court has blocked key parts of Missouri’s photo ID rules. Please find the full decision attached and view this article for more information.

The Judge’s ruling includes:

1. A prohibition on requiring voters who present valid, non-photo forms of identification from signing an intimidating and confusing affidavit under penalty of perjury,

2. A prohibition on any state advertisements that suggest that a photo ID is required to vote or that voters will be asked for a photo ID at the polls, and

3. A requirement that future advertisements from the Secretary of State explicitly mention that non-photo forms of identification are acceptable to vote.

This ruling will be appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley. But, you can bet we’ll be ready for them! And if we win, then our voting rights landscape will be restored to what it was pre-HB 1631/pre-Amendment 6, which is awesome!

This significant ruling is a consequence of the work of the many, many volunteers – including so many of you all – who participated in efforts to educate voters, monitor implementation of these rules, and speak out against voter suppression. This is also a consequence of the plaintiffs and witnesses who bravely testified about their experiences, despite having been disenfranchised and intimidated by the photo ID rules.

In short, the People took on those who sought to disenfranchise voters, and The People prevailed! The work continues, but this is a moment to celebrate, for sure!

Cheers,

Trish and Jake, on behalf of WE CAN’s Voting Rights team