Missouri – A voter ID fight that began in Indiana has now pulled Missouri to the front of a 23-state legal push, with Attorney General Catherine Hanaway asking a federal appeals court to protect what she calls the states’ power to write and defend election rules.
Hanaway this week led a multistate amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, backing Indiana’s voter ID law and arguing that election integrity measures belong within the constitutional authority of state legislatures.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office said the filing supports Indiana’s effort to keep rules in place requiring voters to use government-issued photo identification, rather than certain nongovernment IDs, to prove who they are at the polls.
At the center of the case is Indiana Senate Bill 10, also known as Public Law 70, which passed in 2025. The law was temporarily blocked on April 14, 2026, when U.S. District Judge Richard Young ruled that the ban violated the constitutional right to vote.
Missouri’s filing asks the Seventh Circuit to reverse that decision, saying the lower court wrongly set aside a voter ID measure that the state describes as common-sense election security.
Hanaway framed the issue as one of public confidence, saying Missouri would oppose efforts that weaken “the integrity and security of American elections.” She also argued that states should not have to wait until fraud happens before taking preventive steps. In her words, voter ID laws are meant to preserve “secure, accurate, and trustworthy elections” while keeping access open for eligible voters.
Missouri Solicitor General Lou Capozzi made the broader constitutional argument, saying election rules are entrusted to “people’s elected representatives in state legislatures,” not judges substituting their own policy choices. The filing also points to a prior U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld Indiana’s voter ID law, which Missouri says the district court failed to properly follow.
The coalition includes attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. For Missouri, the case is more than an Indiana dispute. It is a test of how much room states still have to shape the mechanics of voting before the next election fight arrives.
