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ACLU Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Stay Appeals Panel Ruling on Wisconsin Voter ID Law

Case: Frank v. Walker: Fighting Voter Suppression in Wisconsin
October 8, 2014 12:00 am
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WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union today asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay Monday's ruling from a Seventh Circuit appeals panel that concluded Wisconsin's voter ID law is constitutional and does not violate the Voting Rights Act.

The following is a statement from Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project:

"Permitting this law to go into effect so close to the election is fueling voter confusion and election chaos in Wisconsin, particularly for the many voters who have already cast their ballots. Voters deserve a fair shake, but this last-minute disruption changes the rules of the game in an election that is already underway, and risks locking out thousands of voters. The stakes are extremely high."

The motion filed today also notes factual inaccuracies in the appeals panel's ruling, including:

  • "The Seventh Circuit also could not fathom that so many registered Wisconsin voters lack a photo ID 'in a world in which photo ID is essential to board an airplane, . . . pick up a prescription at a pharmacy, open a bank account or cash a check at a currency exchange, buy a gun, or enter a courthouse to serve as a juror or watch the argument of this appeal.' Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong again. Wisconsin fliers, patients, bank customers, gun owners, and court watchers do not need photo IDs. Only Wisconsin voters."
  • "The panel inexplicably stated that key voter witnesses 'did not testify that they had tried to get [a copy of their birth certificate], let alone that they had tried but failed.' But numerous witnesses testified that they tried and failed to get a birth certificate so they could get a voter ID."

The ACLU, the ACLU of Wisconsin, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, and Dechert LLP are co-counsel in this case, Frank v. Walker.

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.

Source: American Civil Liberties Union

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