A group of Indiana nuns were turned away from a South Bend polling place last week because they lacked photo IDs, which are required to vote in that state. Now, their colleagues in St. Louis are urging Missouri lawmakers not to pass a similar requirement here.

“We strongly urge all Missouri citizens to contact their representatives and ask them to vote against this measure,” said Sr. Jane Hotstream, president of the St. Louis Regional Community of the Sisters of Mercy, in a statement released Friday afternoon.

House Joint Resolution 48, the photo ID measure, was given no chance of passing as the session began. the Missouri Supreme Court had ruled a similar bill unconstitutional. But the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Indiana law to stand, giving new hope to the bill’s mostly Republican supporters.

That’s a bad idea, Sr. Hotstream said. “A more restrictive law will make it harder for citizens to vote and undermine civic participation vital to a healthy democracy,” the nuns’ statement notes.

That, of course, is the idea. With just hours left in the legislative session, though, it’s unlikely that the nuns’ appeal will have much impact.

Of course, no one thought Sr. Mary Stigmata could get $5,000 to save St. Helen of the Blessed Shroud Orphanage in Chicago, either. But this time, there’s no Blues Brothers to ride to the rescue.

(Post-Dispatch file photo)