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ACLU Comment on Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Wisconsin Voter ID Ruling

Case: Frank v. Walker: Fighting Voter Suppression in Wisconsin
September 12, 2014 6:53 pm
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CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Wisconsin's voter ID law after hearing oral arguments earlier in the day. The American Civil Liberties Union presented arguments asking the court to uphold an April 29 federal court ruling striking down the law as unconstitutional and in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

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

"This decision fails to protect the voters of Wisconsin and the integrity of our elections. Before today, courts considering ID laws have not allowed them to go into effect this close to an election. We are evaluating our options to prevent chaos at the polls and to ensure that all Wisconsin voters are able to access the ballot free of unjustified obstacles."

A copy of the order is at: https://www.aclu.org/voting-rights/frank-v-walker-seventh-circuit-court-appeals-order

More information about this case is at: https://www.aclu.org/voting-rights/frank-v-walker-fighting-voter-suppression-wisconsin

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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