Photo ID bill passes Missouri House

Intro:	Despite fierce opposition from Democrats, Missouri House Republicans passed and sent the Senate a bill to require a photo ID to vote.
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Wrap: A bill requiring government-issued photo ID when voting passed the Missouri House of Representatives and will go to the State Senate.

House Democrats argued that the amendment is unnecessary and suppresses the vote of their constituents, while Republicans said the voting process needs to be more secure from tampering.

The bill's sponsor, Hermann Representative Justin Alferman, said requiring photo ID is best for the integrity of Missouri's elections.

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Description: Elections are the purest form of participation in the political process that we have in the state of Missouri. We need to be sure that our elections are held to the highest standards.

A government-issued photo ID would be required to vote in the state, should the constitutional amendment pass through the Senate and win approval from Missouri voters in November.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Jack Morrisroe.

Intro:	In relatively swift action, Missouri House Republicans sent the Senate a measure to ask Missouri voters to approve restricting voting rights to those with government issued photo IDs.
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Wrap: A photo ID bill passed through the Missouri House of Representatives with the vast majority of the chamber voting for the legislation.

The bill will be put up to a public vote to amend the state's constitution later this year, pending the Senate's approval. Under the act, every voter in the state would need a government-issued photo ID to vote in any state election.

Many Democrats saw the issue as racially charged, including St. Louis County Representative Deb Lavender.

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Description: The head of the NAACP did testify, Rod Chapel, and he told us that this is the new 'Jim Crow', here in Missouri, preventing people from being able to vote.

The Missouri State Senate will review the bill later this session.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Jack Morrisroe.

Intro:	Missouri's House of Representatives took their final step in putting together a statewide photo ID law.
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Wrap: Every voter in Missouri would be required to present a government-issued photo ID at the polls under a two-part legislative package cleared by the House and sent to the Senate.

The first part of the package would submit to Missouri voters a constitutional amendment to let the legislature require a photo ID. The second bill would actually implement the requirement if voters approve the amendment.

Many Democratic members of the House questioned the purpose of the bill, including Jackson County Representative Randy Dunn.

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Description: This bill is dealing with photo identification and so this bill will not in any way address impersonation voter fraud.

Missouri House Republicans said the state's elections have to be protected against any threat.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Jack Morrisroe.