JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Despite pushback from voting rights advocates, Missouri voters will be required to show a photo ID at the ballot box under a new law signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday.
The sweeping new law, sponsored by Rep. John Simmons, a Washington Republican, prohibits touchscreen voting machines after 2024 and allows the Missouri secretary of state to audit voter rolls. It also gets rid of presidential primaries in Missouri — replacing them with a series of caucuses — and gives voters a two-week period to cast absentee ballots without an excuse.
“In 2020 and years prior, Missouri has conducted free, fair, and secure elections, but with changing technologies and new emerging threats, we want to ensure they remain that way,” Parson said.
