Arkansas voter ID ruling put on hold
Arkansas’ highest court on Tuesday temporarily stayed a judge’s ruling striking down the state’s new voter ID law. The court said it wanted arguments by the end of the week on whether the requirements should remain in place. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled the law, approved by the Legislature last year, violated Arkansas’ constitution. The latest ruling comes as election officials prepare for the May 20 primary, with early voting set to begin May 5. The primary was expected to be the first statewide test of the law.
Associated Press
A federal judge struck down Wisconsin’s voter identification law Tuesday, declaring that a requirement that voters show a state-issued photo ID at the polls imposes an unfair burden on poor and minority voters.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman sided with opponents of the law, who argued that low-income and minority voters aren’t as likely to have photo IDs or the documents needed to get them.
Adelman said the law violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. He also said the law appeared too flawed to fix with legislative amendments.
Adelman’s decision invalidates Wisconsin’s law and means voter ID likely won’t be in place for the fall elections, when Republican Gov. Scott Walker faces re-election. While Walker committed last month to calling a special legislative session if the law was struck down in court, his spokeswoman wouldn’t commit to that Tuesday.
“We believe the voter ID law is constitutional and will ultimately be upheld,” Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said in an email. “We’re reviewing the decision for any potential action.”
The ruling could set a precedent for similar legal challenges in Texas, North Carolina and elsewhere. There are 31 states with laws in effect requiring voters to show some form of identification, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Pennsylvania’s voter ID law has been put on hold because of court challenges.
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama waded into the voter ID debate, accusing Republicans of using restrictions to keep voters from the polls and jeopardizing 50 years of expanded voting access for millions of black Americans and other minorities.
A Dane County judge had already blocked Wisconsin’s law in state court. The state Supreme Court heard arguments in two separate lawsuits in February, although it’s not clear when the justices will issue a ruling.
For voter ID to be reinstated, the state’s high court would have to rule that it doesn’t violate the state constitution, and Adelman’s decision would have to be overturned on appeal.
Wisconsin’s Department of Justice, which defended the state law in court, pledged to continue the fight.
“I am disappointed with the order and continue to believe Wisconsin’s law is constitutional,” Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said in a statement. “We will appeal.”
Republican backers had argued that requiring voters to show ID would cut down on voter fraud and boost public confidence in the integrity of the election process. But Adelman, who was appointed to the bench in 1997 by President Bill Clinton, said the state failed to prove that voter fraud is a legitimate problem.
“Virtually no voter impersonation occurs in Wisconsin,” he wrote in a 90-page opinion, “and it is exceedingly unlikely that voter impersonation will become a problem in Wisconsin in the foreseeable future.”
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