ACLU files federal lawsuit over Wisconsin's voter ID law

Chicago Tribune ^ | 12-13-11

[afraidfortherepublic]

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, claiming Wisconsin's new voter identification law imposes a severe burden on the right to vote - the second lawsuit filed in the last two months.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Milwaukee, the ACLU, the ACLU of Wisconsin and National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty asked the court to declare the law unconstitutional and award plaintiffs their attorneys' fees.

"This lawsuit is the opening act in what will be a long struggle to undo the damage done to the right to vote by strict photo ID laws and other voter suppression measures," said ACLU attorney Jon Sherman in a statement. "Across the nation, legislators are robbing countless American citizens of their fundamental right to vote, and in the process, undermining the very legitimacy of our democracy. We intend to redirect their attention to the United States Constitution."

According to the lawsuit, requiring only certain types of government-issued photo ID imposes a severe burden on voting rights and effectively imposes an unconstitutional poll tax.

Among the defendants named are Gov. Scott Walker and members of the Government Accountability Board, which oversees state elections, and the Department of Transportation, which oversees the Division of Motor Vehicles that issues state IDs.

In an email statement, Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said the law is constitutional and other states laws with photo ID requirements have been upheld by federal courts.

"Requiring photo identification to vote helps ensure the integrity of our elections - we already require it to get a library card, cold medicine, and public assistance," he said.

[Bitsy]

we KNOW exactly WHAT is going on

How they grossly underestimate the intelligence of middle America.