JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri NAACP and the League of Women Voters brought two lawsuits against the state of Missouri in regard to the state's new voting laws.
The lawsuits specifically target Missouri's voter ID law. As previously reported by KOMU 8, this law requires Missouri voters to show photo identification at polling locations in order to cast their ballots. This went into law on Aug. 28, two months before the November election.
The second lawsuit specifically targets Missouri's law about voter engagement, which makes it illegal for people who are not registered to vote to solicit others to send absentee ballots.
A Cole County judge heard the initial hearing of these lawsuits at 11 a.m. Friday.
The counsel for the NAACP and LWV motioned to expedite the lawsuit regarding the voter ID law. They claim the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on the voting rights of Missouri residents. The counsel said it is ready to go to trial, and the timing is important due to the upcoming election.
"There is still no evidence that there's a voter fraud problem, there's no evidence that signature matches have changed, but even if there were, those are questions for a trial for you to judge evidence, judge credibility of witnesses and not for a motion to dismiss," Tony Rothert, the plaintiff's attorney, said.
The state's defense motioned to dismiss the lawsuit regarding the voter ID law. It claims that the NAACP and LWV did not react to the new law fast enough, and that they failed to provide expert testimony to prove that the law will actually keep Missourians from being able to vote.
"This is a case that really cries out for expert testimony. There's going to be at least three topics for expert testimony," John Sour, the state's defense attorney, said. "Number one is, does this in-fact keep people from voting? Number two is, does it serve the state's anti-fraud and election initiative and number three is, if it relates to the signature verification requirement?"
No decision was made in the hearing, but the judge said everything should be reviewed in a week.
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September 24, 2022 at 04:45AM
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Initial hearings for lawsuits challenging Missouri's voter ID law occur in Jefferson City - KOMU 8
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