Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Permanent Wisconsin Voter ID Injunction Stands

Photo: HNG

The State of Wisconsin has been barred from implementing the Voter ID law in statewide elections, according to Judge Flanagan's ruling.

By H. Nelson Goodson
July 17, 2012

Madison - On Tuesday, Dane County Circuit Court Judge David Flanagan issued a permanent injunction preventing the State of Wisconsin from implementing the Voter ID law, which required eligible voting-age citizens to show a state issued ID or license when voting in upcoming elections. Judge Flanagan released his decision in the case this afternoon, according to a news release by Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant rights non-profit organization. Flanagan determined, that the photo ID law was the strictest in the country and is "not sufficiently narrow to void needless and significant impairment of the right to vote."
Flanagan's decision will prevent the Government Accountability Board, local and county election commissions from implementing the ID law during the forthcoming elections.
The Photo ID law or Act 23 lawsuit was filed by the Milwaukee Chapter of the NAACP and Voces de la Frontera. The legislature created another class or group to be excluded from voting by passing the Voter ID, according to the plaintiffs.
On April 16, Judge Flanagan ruled that the Voter ID would keep about 220,000 low income voting-age citizens from voting due to the burdens imposed by the state legislature.  Some citizens could not afford $10 to $40 to get a birth certificate copy to apply for a state ID.
The Republican control legislature passed the Voter ID law in May 2011 and Governor Scott Walker (R) signed it into law. The Republicans were accused by Democrats of trying to keep low-income minorities from voting to set the stage for a Republican presidential candidate to win Wisconsin in an efford to oust President Barack H. Obama (D-IL) from office in 2012.

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