Three Republican Judges Just Made It Harder To Vote In Order To Help Scott Walker’s Reelection
I still am stunned by this decision so close to the election!
[link:http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/09/12/3567181/three-republican-judges-just-gave-a-big-leg-up-to-scott-walkers-reelection-campaign/|
Three Republican Judges Just Made It Harder To Vote In Order To Help Scott Walker’s Reelection http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/09/12/3567181/three-republican-judges-just-gave-a-big-leg-up-to-scott-walkers-reelection-campaign/ …
Three Republican Judges Just Gave A Big Leg Up To Scott Walker’s Reelection Campaign
by Ian Millhiser Posted on September 12, 2014 at 6:06 pm
"Three Republican Judges Just Gave A Big Leg Up To Scott Walker’s Reelection Campaign"
Just hours after hearing oral arguments on whether a Wisconsin law that could disenfranchise thousands of voters should be reinstated, a conservative panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a single page order allowing the law to go into effect during this November’s election. The highly unusual order — federal appeals courts typically spend more than a few hours deliberating after oral argument before issuing a significant order that could affect thousands, and they normally explain their reasoning for doing so in a more lengthy opinion — was issued by three judges who were all appointed by Republican presidents. Judge Frank Easterbrook is a Reagan appointee. Judges Diane Sykes and John Tinder are both George W. Bush appointees.
At issue in this case was Wisconsin’s voter ID law, which requires voters to show ID at the polls in order to cast a ballot. Last April, a federal district court struck down the law, explaining that “no rational person could be worried about” voter fraud at the polls. Although voter ID laws’ supporters often claim they are needed to prevent such fraud, in-person voter fraud is so rare as to be virtually non-existent. A study of the approximately 3 million votes cast in Wisconsin during the 2004 election, for example, found just seven cases of fraud — and none of those cases would have been prevented by a voter ID law.
Voter ID does, however, disproportionately target low-income voters, minorities and young voters, all of whom tend to prefer Democrats to Republicans. According to Judge Lynn Adelman’s opinion striking down the Wisconsin law, 9 percent of registered voters lack the ID necessary to vote under the Wisconsin law. Adelman is a Clinton appointee.
The Seventh Circuit panel’s decision barely discusses the merits of the case. Instead, it rests on a claim that because the “Supreme Court of Wisconsin revised the procedures to make it easier for persons who have difficulty affording any fees to obtain the birth certificates or other documentation needed under the law, or to have the need for documentation waived,” the likelihood that voters will be disenfranchised is reduced. Yet, as law professor and voting law expert Rick Hasen points out, it is a “very bad idea” for the Seventh Circuit to permit Wisconsin to implement a major change to its election procedures this close to an election — and there is Supreme Court precedent saying as much.......
= new reply since forum marked as read
