League of Women Voters of Wisconsin files suit against state voter ID law

Network partner League of Women Voters of Wisconsin has filed a lawsuit against a new state law requiring voters to show a photo ID when they go to the polls. The challenge asserts that under the Wisconsin state constitution, people without ID cannot be prohibited from voting.

“Some people say that you have to show ID to use the library, cash checks, and so on. That is very different than a right that is guaranteed by the constitution of the state or federal government. Those transactions are generally based on personal business decisions of companies or other entities. They are not rights of citizenship,” Melanie G. Ramey, president of League of Women Voters of Wisconsin said.

“The Wisconsin Constitution only allows the legislature to exclude the two named classes from voting—felons and people ruled incompetent,” said the League’s lawyer, Lester Pines, in a statement quoted in the Huffington Post. “The new law creates a third class of citizens who may not vote—people who do not have ID. This lawsuit challenges the legislature’s authority to enact such a law.”

The law creates a new “class” of citizens that are disenfranchised, says Pines. Governor Scott Walker’s administration has 45 days to answer the suit.

League of Women Voters Wisconsin: League voter ID lawsuit filed today in Dane County court
Huffington Post: Wisconsin voter ID law faces court challenge