A state appeals court overturned a Dane County Circuit Court ruling Thursday morning, handing proponents of the state’s controversial voter ID law a minor legal victory. The ruling from the 4th District Court of Appeals came in a case brought by the Wisconsin League of Women Voters. The league argued the law passed in 2011 violated a provision of the Wisconsin Constitution that guarantees every person the right to vote. Thursday’s ruling, however, will not result in the voter ID law being enacted. Three other lawsuits are still pending that challenge the legality of the law. In the other case brought in state courts, Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant rights group, and the Milwaukee branch of the NAACP won a permanent injunction against the voter ID law in Dane County Circuit Court. The state Department of Justice has asked for an appeals court review of the ruling.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the League of United Latin American Citizens have filed separate lawsuits challenging the law in federal court and those cases are pending.
“Today’s court decision is a limited one,” Andrea Kaminski, the League’s executive director, said Thursday.
“The court of appeals declined to find that the voter ID law is unconstitutional in the absence of evidence that the requirement impairs the rights of qualified citizens to vote,” she added. “Such evidence was not presented in this case. Thus, the decision does not resolve the constitutionality of the law. Other cases are still pending in state and federal courts that address the impairment issue.”
The state agreed on the limited reach of the ruling.
Full Article: Appeals court ruling doesn’t enact voter ID law : Ct.