Justices turn away challenge to Wisconsin voter ID law
By Andrew LaCombe, FOX 11 News Published:
March 23, 2015, 8:47 am
Updated: March 23, 2015, 5:52 pm
GREEN BAY – Wisconsin’s photo identification requirement for voters will stand after the United States Supreme Court announced Monday morning it won’t take on a challenge to the law.
Voters will have some time to adjust. The requirement will not be in place for the election scheduled April 7, says Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel.
The ID law has gone back and forth in the legal system for about four years. It was instated, put on hold, reinstated, then put on hold just before last fall’s election.
The Supreme Court’s decision Monday means the lower court’s ruling stands and the law can be implemented.
Schimel says he’s holding off because absentee ballots are already in the hands of voters, but the law will be in place for elections going forward.
An area elections official says that timeline works well.
“I think this is kind of an ideal transition period because we don’t have fall elections,” said Brown County Clerk Sandy Juno.
She urges voters to prepare now.
“Anyone who doesn’t have photo ID should take time to go take care of that now so when we get to the spring elections, you don’t end up in that big backlog of waiting to get your ID,” said Juno.
Charley Jacobs, a political science professor at St. Norbert College, says the Supreme Court could someday rule on another state’s ID law.
“The issue isn’t really completely dead,” said Jacobs. “The court is also entertaining petitions about very similar cases, one in particular out of the state of Texas, where there might be implications for the state of Wisconsin.”
The Supreme Court did not comment on its order. Jacobs explained one possible reason why the justices didn’t consider a challenge to Wisconsin’s law.
“I don’t think the court was willing to step in and say this is violating individuals’ rights,” he said. “There hasn’t really been a clear-cut case made that lots of people are disenfranchised.”
Wisconsin’s requirement was enforced for a low-turnout primary in February 2012. It’s been on hold every election since.
Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed the voter ID measure into law four years ago after the Republican-controlled state legislature passed it.
“This is great news for Wisconsin voters,” Walker said in a statement. “As we’ve said, this is a common sense reform that protects the integrity of our voting process, making it easy to vote and hard to cheat.”
State Rep. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, said the persistent legal challenges by opponents were a waste of
time and money.
“This was not really an outcome that was in doubt,” said Jacque. “It’s unfortunate that it took this long to get here.”
Democrats say the requirement will disenfranchise people who lack a valid ID.
“I think it’s clear what will happen when this law goes into effect, which will be the suppression of thousands of votes across the state of Wisconsin, primarily amongst the poor, the disabled,” said State Rep. Eric Genrich, D-Green Bay.
Both Genrich and Jacque said they supported Schimel’s decision to hold off on the law until after the April 7 spring election.
Schimel says the requirement will be in place for next February’s primary and any special election that comes up before then.
Including Wisconsin, 32 states have some form of enforceable voter ID laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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