Good news for democracy and voting rights in Wisconsin! On April 29, 2014 a federal judge ruled that Gov. Walker’s voter photo identification law violated both the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and cannot be enforced. The judge found that the Republican-backed voter ID law, which would have required voters to show a state-issued photo ID when casting a ballot, places an unfair burden on poor and minority voters.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman found that Wisconsin’s voter photo ID requirement violated the equal protection guarantee of the U.S. Constitution because the law unjustifiably burdens eligible voters -- particularly poor and low-income voters who are less likely to have photo IDs or the documents needed to obtain them. Wisconsin’s photo ID requirement was also found to violate the Voting Rights Act because it disproportionally impacts African-American and Latino voters who are less likely to have a photo ID and who also face barriers such as access to transportation, lack of a birth certificate, poverty and fewer area DMVs needed to obtain an ID.
Scott Walker’s partisan power grab and extreme ideology in enacting voter ID may cost the state of Wisconsin over $1 million in legal fees.
In a well-constructed legal ruling, Judge Adelman states that Gov. Walker’s law appears to be so discriminatory that it is difficult to imagine how the Legislature could amend the law and remove its discriminatory impact.
The landmark ruling invalidates the law and means that voters will NOT have to show a photo ID in November’s election.
Earlier this year, Gov. Walker vowed to call a special session to pass a new and slightly varied voter disenfranchisement law that would be just within legal limits. We strongly oppose this circumvention of the courts and believe that any photo ID law is unjust, immoral and unconstitutional.
However, on April 30, Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Senate President Mike Ellis stated that a legislative special session will not be called to pass an additional voter disenfranchisement law.
It is important to remember that there is no evidence of voter fraud in Wisconsin. In fact, Judge Adelman concluded that “voter impersonator fraud does not occur in Wisconsin.” Our democracy is strongest when we encourage Wisconsinites to vote, not place confusing and additional barriers to casting a ballot.
The right to vote is a constitutionally guaranteed right for citizens in America. Placing unnecessary and burdensome requirements on eligible voters trying to cast their ballot is wrong. Republican-backed photo ID laws are nothing more than a political power grab and a blatant attempt to control the electorate by silencing Democratic-leaning segments of voters.
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