http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/nomorefree_1789.mp3
As of Monday, the state Revenue Department no longer offered free photo identification, which could be necessary to vote. KSMU's Missy Shelton reports.
As of Monday, the state Revenue Department no longer offered free photo identification, which could be necessary to vote.
According to department lawyers, a ruling last week that invalidated the voter photo I-D requirement also prohibits the department from handing out free I-Ds.
When lawmakers approved legislation earlier this year requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls, they also approved a provision to allow the department to issue free I-Ds to those who did not already have them.
Maura Browning is public information officer for the Revenue Department.
Browning says the department is seeking clarification from the courts on whether or not it's allowed to resume issuing the I-Ds for free.
Browning says the department also had to postpone plans to take its mobile identification unit to nursing homes and other facilities for the elderly and disabled.
There were plans to bring the mobile unit to several facilities in Springfield and Southwest Missouri this week but Browning says those plans are on hold.
She says if the department regains its authority to issue free I-Ds, it will once again book the mobile unit to visit facilities around the state.
Browning says if the department gets clearance from the court to resume issuing free I-Ds, the days it suspended its operations could impact future rulings on the photo I-D requirement.
So far, the department has issued more than 21 hundred and 50 free I-Ds.
If the Supreme Court upholds the lower court's ruling that the photo I-D requirement is unconstitutional, there will be no need to issue the free I-Ds.