Federal Appeals Court Revives Challenge to Wisconsin’s Voter ID Law
April 12, 2016 8:00 pm
CHICAGO – A federal appeals court has directed a lower court to consider the claims of voters who have trouble obtaining identification under Wisconsin’s strict voter ID law.
During oral arguments last week, the American Civil Liberties Union asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to give voters that opportunity.
Sean Young, an attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said:
“The court ruled that eligible voters facing difficulty obtaining ID have the right to challenge Wisconsin’s strict voter ID law. This ruling gives them the chance to go back to the lower court to make their case. This is a victory for the voters of Wisconsin.”
The ruling is at: /legal-document/frank-v-walker-ruling
More information about this case, Frank v. Walker, is at: /cases/frank-v-walker-fighting-voter-suppression-wisconsin
Wisconsin
Dec 2016
Voting Rights
Frank v. Walker: Fighting Voter Suppression in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s voter ID law is one of the harshest in the country and requires voters to produce one of a few specified forms of photo identification in order to vote. This restriction imposes a substantial burden on the right to vote by requiring photo identification that many voters do not have, and that many voters cannot easily obtain, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. In addition, the Wisconsin voter ID law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits the use of voting practices that have a negative impact on racial and language minorities. The law has a disproportionate impact on black and Latino voters, who are twice as likely to lack photo ID accepted for voting in Wisconsin compared to white voters.
Explore case
Wisconsin
Dec 2016
Voting Rights
Frank v. Walker: Fighting Voter Suppression in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s voter ID law is one of the harshest in the country and requires voters to produce one of a few specified forms of photo identification in order to vote. This restriction imposes a substantial burden on the right to vote by requiring photo identification that many voters do not have, and that many voters cannot easily obtain, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. In addition, the Wisconsin voter ID law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits the use of voting practices that have a negative impact on racial and language minorities. The law has a disproportionate impact on black and Latino voters, who are twice as likely to lack photo ID accepted for voting in Wisconsin compared to white voters.
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