NorthStar's Operation Big Vote

Wisconsin Judge to Hear Challenge to Voter ID Law

A circuit court  judge this morning will hear the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin challenge to the state's photo ID law, which, if enforced, would prevent large numbers of black voters from casting ballots in the 2012 presidential election.

The judge in Madison will hear arguments beginning at 9:30 am from Lester Pines and Susan Crawford, lawyers for the League of Women Voters. Pines and Crawford are expected to argue that the Photo ID law violates the state's constitution.

“The suffrage, or voting, portion of the state constitution defines who may vote,” the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Network wrote in a news release. “Voters must be U.S. citizens at least 18 years old and who are residents of Wisconsin.”

Organization officials said the state's constitution excludes felons and individuals judged to be incompetent from voting, but the new law creates a third class of citizens who may not vote—those who don't have a photo ID.

Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed the bill into law last May after the state's Republican legislature passed the legislation.

“The new law places an unfair burden on people who do not need a driver's license, in particular the elderly, people with disabilities, low-income citizens and students,”  wrote the League of Women Voters.

According to a research report by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on the driver's license status of the voting age population in Wisconsin, the black vote would suffer because 55 percent of black men and 49 percent of black women in the state do not have valid driver's licenses. This compares with 17 percent of white men and 17 percent of white women, who do not carry valid driver's licenses, the report found.

The new law went into effect in January. Voters must show an ID card issued by the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles at the polls in order to vote. Gov. Walker initially ordered 10 DMV offices in Democratic neighborhoods to be closed, but he dropped the plan after a public outcry.

The IDs are free, but in order to get one, the resident has to present a U.S. birth certificate, passport or a certificate of naturalization, which cost money and represent an illegal poll tax, say the law's opponents.

“As a nonpartisan organization that encourages participation in government, the League is concerned about the many eligible citizens who will be disenfranchised by the new law,” League of Women Voters said.