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Wisconsin voter ID ruling creates confusion
Pioneer Press/AP ^ | 8-2-14 | Scott Bauer

Posted on 08/02/2014 7:38:37 AM PDT by TurboZamboni

MADISON, Wis. -- A court-ordered change to Wisconsin's photo identification law that's designed to cut down on voter fraud is creating confusion and may even open the door to the very type of behavior Republican lawmakers were trying to prevent.

Policy makers, attorneys and voter ID experts were struggling Friday with how to interpret a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling from a day earlier, which mandated a change to the law in order to make it constitutional.

The court said the state can't require applicants for state-issued IDs to present government documents that cost money to obtain, such as a copy of a birth certificate. The court left it to the Division of Motor Vehicles to come up with a solution.

"We don't know how that's going to work," Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Thursday shortly after the ruling. When asked whether obtaining photo IDs without having to present government-issued documents verifying a person's identity could result in fraud, Vos said: "It's got a potential for it."

The requirement, passed in 2011, is not currently in effect. A state judge blocked it in March 2012 and in May a federal judge struck it down as violating the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection. While the state Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional, a federal appeals court would have to reverse U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman's ruling for the requirement to take effect.

Thirty-four states have passed laws requiring some sort of identification from voters, but only 31 of them are in effect, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Wisconsin
KEYWORDS: id; voter; voting; walker
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To: txrefugee

Sorry, I get those cold states mixed up. I meant the Supreme Court of WE.


21 posted on 08/02/2014 8:49:05 AM PDT by txrefugee
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To: morphing libertarian

Our tax office was the worst before they moved! Smallish downtown area with court house and all government offices together so there was never any parking (although since it was an old downtown the parking was along the streets which are still shaded by huge old trees, so that part was nice!) - but once you did find somewhere to park and got inside, it was chaos - small area to wait, had to be in a line, which had to wind out the door - three folks working the counter. Then when you got up there you learned they don’t take credit or debit cards - just cash or checks. Seriously.... who doesn’t take debit? But now they do - hard to believe government improved!


22 posted on 08/02/2014 9:07:59 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Turmoil in the Middle East? Quick Obama, show them your Peace Prize!)
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To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA
Its strange how we become used to abuse by bureaucracy.

I recently went to the DMV extension in my nearby little town. I was the only one there except for the lone employee. He was friendly and helpful and I walked out in less than 10 minutes.

The whole time I kept thinking that the whole situation was weird and creepy. After my previous experiences in big city DMVs, I couldn't help but to get the feeling that I was on some sort of camera show or some type of government setup.

23 posted on 08/02/2014 9:36:08 AM PDT by gnarledmaw (Obama: Evincing a Design since 2009)
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To: gnarledmaw

So true! lol


24 posted on 08/02/2014 9:42:35 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Turmoil in the Middle East? Quick Obama, show them your Peace Prize!)
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To: TurboZamboni

Newspaper reporters are frequently confused.


25 posted on 08/02/2014 9:57:12 AM PDT by Zathras
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To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA
Well, the local tax office in Waxahachie does not take debit or credit cards.

As long as banks impose a fee upon the merchant, they are unable to use these cards.

In our case there is no legal method to charge the taxpayer a fee to cover the swipe fee, and there is no will to force banks to waive the swipe fee for government transactions.

I can pay some bills online using a credit card if we use a third party to be the intermediate, and we agree to pay the ~ $3.95 convenience fee.

26 posted on 08/02/2014 10:00:34 AM PDT by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: texas booster

Yes, I figured that was why they weren’t set up to take credit cards at the former location - I have no idea if they got some kind of agreement with a bank to waive the fee or not. Do banks also charge for debit transactions? I ask because we stayed at a charitable location when a family member was in the hospital and instead of putting the charges on a credit card (which would cost the location the fee), I used my debit and discussed with the worker on site - she thanked me for considering that fee (we were there for a month so it wasn’t just one fee). But if the bank charges for debit then I didn’t do them any favor


27 posted on 08/02/2014 10:05:23 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Turmoil in the Middle East? Quick Obama, show them your Peace Prize!)
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To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA
Banks charge a fee to the merchant for all plastic.

Debit cards using a PIN are charged the least fees.

When a website disables all “know your customer” form of identification, that website pays the highest fees. Very high fraud liability.

Which is why the forces of O’ disabled all identity checks for the last two elections.

28 posted on 08/02/2014 10:44:34 AM PDT by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA

Our “progressive” local governments still collect taxes like it was 1955.


29 posted on 08/02/2014 10:51:48 AM PDT by denydenydeny ("World History is not full of good governments, or of good voters either "--P.J. O'Rourke)
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To: texas booster
thanks - I guess the ladies at that charity didn't realize they were paying a fee either way.... darn. Well I still added a bit each week as a donation so that at least covered the fee plus a little.

And for any of you who are not familiar with these charities - there are lots of them across the U.S. Sort of like Ronald McDonald House - folks affiliated with a hospital or Hospice can stay there for a very reduced rate. The one we were at had laundry facilities and even soap, shampoo, etc. We save travel shampoos and soaps and donate to them whenever we are in town. they also need toilet paper, coffee, etc if anyone is looking for a place to donate things that are actually used instead of cash going to overhead!

30 posted on 08/02/2014 11:10:08 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Turmoil in the Middle East? Quick Obama, show them your Peace Prize!)
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To: denydenydeny

too bad the prices aren’t still the same as 1955!


31 posted on 08/02/2014 11:10:37 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Turmoil in the Middle East? Quick Obama, show them your Peace Prize!)
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To: TurboZamboni

Reasonable decision. So the state should issue IDs to those who need them for free.

Problem solved.


32 posted on 08/02/2014 3:13:38 PM PDT by Happy_Regicide
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