By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis – Missouri's voter identification law goes into effect at the end of the month. But a lawsuit filed Thursday in Jefferson City seeks to block the new requirement before November's election.
The plaintiffs include five Missouri residents without current photo IDs and a group backing the minimum wage initiative.
Their attorney, Don Downing, said the new ID requirement places an undue burden on voters and violates the Missouri Constitution for additional reasons.
"Another is that it has a disparate impact on minorities and women, so therefore is a violation of the equal protection clause for that reason."
Downing said his clients are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the requirement.
The first lawsuit was filed late last month by elected officials from St. Louis and Kansas City. They claim the law imposes unconstitutional costs on local governments.