Wisconsin Voter I.D. Law

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

In May 2011 Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a new voter law requiring photographic identification such as Driver’s license, Passport,

Since then, the NAACP and immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, filed complaints challenging  Walker’s photo ID requirement.

On March 6, 2011 Judge David Flanagan then issued a temporary injunction, which essentially freezes the law until trial on April 16th. At which time the NAACP must prove that a large number of people will be “irreparably harmed” by the new law. This shouldn’t be too difficult since they’ve got research from Wisconsin political science professor Kenneth Mayer who found that over 220,000 people in the state lacked the kind of ID needed to vote under the new law.

Wisconsin Republicans then filed a complaint against Judge Flannagan  arguing he couldn’t be a neutral arbitrator because he signed a petition calling for the recall of Gov. Scott Walker. The complaint, filed with the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, said that Judge David Flanagan should have excused himself from the case or at least disclosed that he had signed the Walker recall petition. They pointed out that the group circulating the petition listed the voter ID law as one of the reasons to recall Walker. “In signing this document, the judge seemingly made a public statement against the defendant and the Voter ID law in question in the case, and thus removed his ability to appear in an impartial manner and could be found by a reasonable person to be biased under the circumstances,” the complaint stated. Flanagan’s wife circulated six copies of the petition and gathered 37 signatures, according to the complaint. The Republican Party of Wisconsin’s Ben Sparks said in a statement that Flanagan had “made his bias clear” and asked the commission to investigate the allegations “as soon as possible.”

A second Dane County judge, Richard Niess ruled March 12th that the photo identification  requirements of the state voter ID law are unconstitutional and permanently  barred further steps to enforce those provisions. Circuit Judge Niess wrote in his decision that the photo ID requirements are  “unconstitutional to the extent they serve as a condition for voting at the  polls. Without question, where it exists, voter fraud corrupts elections and  undermines our form of government,” Niess wrote, adding that leaders may take  action to prevent it. “But voter fraud is no more poisonous to our democracy  than voter suppression. Indeed, they are two heads on the same monster.” A government that undermines the right to vote imperils its own legitimacy as  a government “by the people, for the people and especially of the people,” Niess  wrote. “It sows the seeds for its own demise as a democratic institution.”

The judge’s order affects only the photo ID requirements of Act 23, which made many other significant changes to Wisconsin’s election laws. Other requirements of Act 23 are still in force, including 28-consecutive day residency, poll list signing, shortened timelines for absentee voting, and the prohibition of the use of a corroborator in lieu of proof of residence.

Through a spokesman, Gov. Scott Walker said he is confident the voter ID law  will stand. “It’s a shame activist Dane County judges continue to stand in the way of  common sense,” said Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie. “Gov. Walker looks forward  to implementing common-sense reforms that protect the electoral process and  increases citizens’ confidence in the results of our elections.”

Personal thoughts on voter I.D.

• I believe that in today’s world we need voter identification to uphold election integrity.
• Other states have implemented programs that offer in-home I.D. assistance to those that cannot travel to obtain an I.D.
• Valid forms of picture I.D. are required at the library, airport, rental car companies, hotels, and at the drug store to purchase cold remedies. It seems to me that voting to elect a public official should be on par with these activities, if not above them in importance.
• This law would reduce corruption from people using outdated information to vote several times.
• I believe that if you are a legal resident of the state there shouldn’t be a problem with obtaining an I.D. Mine took twenty five minutes.
• It would improve the public’s confidence in the election process.

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