The Missouri Supreme Court is weighing the future of the state’s voter photo ID mandate and new limits on voter registration and absentee ballot outreach. Justices heard arguments in two challenges to different parts of a 2022 elections law.

The first case centered on Missouri’s strict photo ID requirement. Plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU, urged the court to reverse a lower court ruling that upheld the rule. A key dispute was whether the plaintiffs have standing to sue despite having ultimately been able to vote.

Attorney Jason Orr argued that the legal burden lies not in whether the plaintiffs voted, but in the obstacles they faced obtaining required identification. The state’s solicitor general, Lou Capozzi, countered that Missouri voters themselves authorized such a requirement through a constitutional amendment passed with 63% support.

Capozzi asserted that the plaintiffs lacked standing because they could not show a single person who was unable to vote under the law. Chief Justice W. Brent Powell questioned how the court could uphold the lower ruling if plaintiffs lack standing altogether.

Missouri NAACP President Nimrod Chapel Jr. criticized the law, arguing it criminalizes efforts to encourage civic participation. If the high court upholds the lower ruling in the photo ID case, the requirement will remain.

The second case challenged other provisions of the same law that restrict voter outreach, including bans on paying registration workers, limits on who may assist with registration, and prohibitions on soliciting absentee ballot applications. The state argued these rules ensure fairness, while the ACLU said they violate core political speech.