Posted on 10/10/2014 11:34:47 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
MADISON, Wis. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday may have blocked Wisconsins voter identification law, but an election reform expert is calling the decision purely procedural and expects the requirement to be in place at some point in the future.
The high court didnt give a reason for its decision in a brief order overruling the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, but three of the nine justices who dissented said there is a colorable basis for the courts conclusion due to the proximity of the upcoming general election Nov. 4.
Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, who all lean conservative, noted its particularly troubling that thousands of absentee ballots had been sent out prior to three Seventh Circuit judges allowing the law to be implemented Sept. 12 while the full court considered the case. The federal appeals court declared the law constitutional on Monday.
Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Heritage Foundations Election Law Reform Initiative, told Wisconsin Reporter on Friday the statement by the three justices shows the timing of Wisconsins voter ID law is the only real issue.
Its one of these situations where changing the rules for the election this close to the election doesnt make sense, so I dont think anybody should read anymore into it than that, von Spakovsky said.
I think in the long run, Wisconsins going to get a positive order from the Supreme Court, because look, the Wisconsin law is so similar to Indianas, I dont see how they could come out any differently, he added.
The Supreme Court upheld Indianas voter ID law in 2008, arguing the safeguards were unquestionably relevant to the states interest in protecting the integrity and reliability of the electoral process. The Seventh Circuit Court on Sept. 12 concluded Wisconsins voter ID law was materially identical to the Indiana law.
Von Spakovsky also pointed to a panel of three federal judges that upheld South Carolinas voter ID requirement in 2012, but delayed enforcement because the decision was made less than a month before the presidential election.
Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, however, doesnt want to wait that long.
The states top law enforcement official told Wisconsin Reporter in a statement Friday his office will be exploring alternatives to address the Courts concern and have voter ID on election day.
I believe the voter ID law is constitutional, and nothing in the Courts order suggests otherwise, said Van Hollen, a Republican.
But Rick Esenberg, president and general counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, isnt confident the Supreme Court will allow the state to enforce the law by the election.
They basically have to move for reconsideration and thats always a difficult thing to do, Esenberg told Wisconsin Reporter. Judges kind of have this instinctual reaction against being asked to change their minds. And its not wrong that they have that. I mean, their job is to make decisions, and if youre constantly revisiting your decisions again and again and again, you dont get any work done.
Thursdays order places Wisconsins voter ID law on hold until the Supreme Court makes a final ruling on the case or turns down an appeal. If the Supreme Court decides not to take the case, the law becomes enforceable, according to Esenberg.
Its more likely than not that well have voter ID, Esenberg said.
Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed the voter ID requirement into law in 2011, but it was blocked after a series of lawsuits and court cases. The state was still able to impose the law for a low turnout primary election in February 2012 without any major reported incidents.
Opponents of the law say requiring photo identification disenfranchises minorities, the elderly and other voters who cannot afford or easily obtain an ID. Others have also claimed the timing of the Wisconsins law would have put additional hardships on government workers and made it more difficult for the state to inform all voters of the changes.
Thousands of Wisconsin senior citizens and absentee voters will get to vote now, State Rep. Brett Hulsey, D-Madison, said Friday in a news release. I applaud the six justices that saw that a grave injustice was about to occur.
But a study by the Heritage Foundation has found that states with ID laws have experienced a higher voter turnout with minorities. Georgia and Indiana, which implemented voter ID laws in 2008, both recorded a higher turnout for the presidential election than many other states without ID requirements. Those turnout numbers also include minorities.
Others have also been quick to debunk the theory that Wisconsins voter ID law would suppress voters because the state was willing to give out identification cards for free.
I think Wisconsin has done enough, the voter ID law is constitutional and it doesnt violate the Voting Rights Act, Esenberg said.
Some opponents argue there is not enough documented voter fraud to justify implementing photo ID laws.
The Supreme Court thinks otherwise.
The high court in 2008 said flagrant examples of voter fraud have been documented throughout the nations history by respected historians and journalists. The instances of such fraud demonstrate that not only is the risk of voter fraud real but that it could affect the outcome of a close election, according to the Heritage Foundations report.
A different study by the Heritage Foundation also has found numerous examples of voter fraud in the country, including several cases in Wisconsin.
Another take on the Supreme Court decision on voter id. Will we get it after all on Nov. 4?
FReep mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
The day after the election is when the Supreme Court will give the go ahead.
Yup..Lets let illegal votes reign till we can get to the bottom of the illegwl vote4rs!
Exactly. One must ask why the DEMS fight the voter ID laws with such gusto. It has nothing,of course, to do with disenfranchising anyone - it’s to allow fraud. I just don’t understand how people can’t see through this.
The Dems like ID for everything else, except voting.
Well, Democrats have managed to stall implementation of this voter ID for two elections
On the general subject of voter id, has there ever been an article about how it is too difficult to get an id for any other transaction that requires an id?
Even one article? Ever? I have never seen one.
Probably November 5th.
Question that should be made to anyone against voter ID: are you against it because you think black people are too stupid to obtain an ID?
I saw your posting name - by afraidfortherepublic -
and wanted to say yes, I sense our Republic is truly gone now. Many freedoms we once had have seeped away. America - AMERICA! - was a great nation! A world leader! A light to the world! A strong nation! Who can say this today?
Like the Church in Ephesus in Revelation 2
You have forsaken the love you had at first.
Consider how far you have fallen!
Repent and do the things you did at first.
If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
http://biblehub.com/niv/revelation/2.htm
GOD help us all.
Blocking voter ID doesn’t have to last long. It just has to last long enough to give Obama one more chance to put more liberal dupes on the Supreme Court. Given the number of idiots that want the GOPe to loose the next election, that’s about 24 days.
Only to be struck down slightly less than a year later..
So those that won’t vote GOPe are idiots now eh?
Name calling is a sign you have lost you’re argument.
The GOPe did it to themselves when they savagely attacked tea party type candidates to keep their GOPe shills in place.
Moreso, even.
Wisconsin > Do It Anyway
You're welcome.
I believe that you were the one to first use the word 'idiot'.
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