Ballot safeguards

A Cole County circuit court judge in Jefferson City, Mo., struck down Missouri's new voter identification law last week, just days after a federal judge in Arizona upheld a similar 2004 law.

In the Missouri case, Judge Richard Callahan found that the law was unduly burdensome on voters who would have to spend money for official documents to obtain the required photo ID. He also said there have been no major complaints about voter fraud since state law was changed a few years ago to require showing some sort of identification at the polls.

Voting fraud needs to be crimped at every possible opportunity. Requiring a photo ID at the polls does not place an undue burden on potential voters. Secretary of State Robin Carnahan estimates as many as 240,000 registered voters might not have been able to cast ballots because of the new law, but an estimate last week by the Department of Revenue showed only 138,000 voters might have problems coming up with a photo ID at the polls.

Both those figures assume everyone who is registered but doesn't have a photo ID would want to vote in upcoming elections. A survey by two University of Missouri professors found only about 8,000 Missourians without photo IDs would want to vote.

The Cole County ruling is likely to be appealed. And the Missouri Legislature can take another look at the issue in January. But safeguards to protect the ballots cast by legitimate voters need to be in place.