The fate of Wisconsin’s voter ID law, set to take effect in one month, is pending before two federal courts, both of which have been asked to issue an emergency order halting implementation of the law. Meanwhile, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to leave the law in place for the Nov. 4 election , when voters will select Wisconsin’s next governor. On Tuesday, one day after a three-judge appeals court panel affirmed that Wisconsin’s voter ID law is constitutional, opponents including the League of United Latin American Citizens and the American Civil Liberties Union asked the full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stop implementation of the requirement that residents show a state-issued identification or other photo ID before voting.
A separate request for emergency action is pending before U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees the 7th Circuit. A decision on that request is expected later this week, said Katherine Culliton-Gonzalez, senior attorney for the Advancement Project, which is representing LULAC and other plaintiffs.
In his response to that request, Van Hollen argued Tuesday that “Wisconsin election officials have been implementing the voter ID law since Sept. 12. Plaintiffs are asking this Court to pinball state and local election officials between enforcing and not enforcing the law with November elections less than four weeks away. Voters would get the pinball treatment, too.”
Opponents of the voter ID law have already lost multiple rounds in the appeals court in Chicago. On Sept. 12, the three-judge panel allowed Wisconsin to reinstate the requirement. On Sept. 26, the full court declined to rehear that case, deadlocking 5-5 on that request.
Full Article: Opponents again ask for relief from voter ID requirement : Wsj.