ST. LOUIS–A new state law that requires a valid Missouri or federal government issued photo ID to vote without a provisional ballot could pose some unique challenges for at least one set of voters: college students.
Election officials have been speaking to college-aged audiences and organizations in recent weeks, trying to spread the word about House Bill 1878, which went into effect in late August.
Voters will have to show a Missouri government issued photo ID or a passport in order to vote with a regular ballot in the Nov. 8 election.
St. Louis County Republican Elections Director Rick Stream recounted a recent visit to students at Saint Louis University.
“I said look, if you're gonna register to vote in Missouri, you have to have a government issued ID card from Missouri, like a driver’s license. If your driver's license is from your home state you're not going to be able to use that here in Missouri or your college ID, even if it has your picture on it, according to the law,” he said.
Other acceptable forms of photo ID include a non-driver license, a valid military ID or veteran’s ID card or another current form of photo ID issued by the state or federal government.
“The polling place on the WashU campus is probably the thing we’re worried most about in the upcoming election because the majority of folks who vote there are from out of state, and they don’t have Missouri IDs and the college IDs don’t work anymore,” Eric Fey, the Democratic Director of Elections for St. Louis County said in a recent webcast moderated by Washington University’s Center for Social Development. “There’s a possibility for a large amount of provisional ballots there that could significantly slow down the voting process for everybody so we’re trying to plan ahead with those folks.”
Washington University’s Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement has been active in voter education on campus, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis is educating students about the law online and in an email newsletter among other efforts, a spokesman said.
One layer of confusion was cleared up Thursday, with a Cole County judge's decision to reject a lawsuit challenging the photo ID requirement. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft had previously said he didn't expect a decision prior to election day.
Provisional ballots
Voters without a valid photo ID can still vote with a provisional ballot, which also means some extra paperwork, which can mean some longer wait times, Fey told Spectrum News.
Provisional ballots aren’t counted at the same time as others on election day. Bipartisan teams check to see if the signature on the provisional ballot matches what is already on file with election authorities, a process that has to be finished before an election is certified, weeks after the actual election.
Getting a valid photo ID
You can get one free nondriver license through the Missouri Department of Revenue. Call 573-526-8683 or go to https://dor.mo.gov for more information. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services will give one free copy of a Missouri birth certificate to someone looking to get their free nondriver’s license.