An appeals court rejected the state’s request to lift an injunction on a law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, ensuring the law will not be in effect for the May primary and possibly the June recall election.
The voter ID law currently faces two challenges in two separate courts. On Thursday, a state appeals court denied the request of the state Department of Justice to stay a permanent injunction on the law. The League of Women’s Voters of Wisconsin brought the suit against the law last October.
“As a practical matter, there will be no definitive court ruling before the May 8 and June 5 recall elections,” the order said. “Given that the briefing period in this appeal has just begun, there is no realistic possibility that the court will issue an opinion before the June 5 election.”
On Wednesday, a separate appeals court denied a request from the state to remove a temporary injunction on the law placed in a different court. The judge in that case has placed a briefing schedule on evidence in the case extending beyond the gubernatorial and Senate recall elections.
Department of Justice spokesperson Dana Brueck said in an email to The Badger Herald that while the DOJ is disappointed in the decision, it believes the law will ultimately be upheld. Brueck said there is no place the DOJ can appeal to have the injunctions lifted until the end of the court cases.
Government Accountability Board spokesperson Reid Magney said in an email to the Herald that based on the court injunctions and status of the appeals, voter photo ID will not be enforced for the recall primary. He added until the courts tell GAB otherwise, they will not enforce the law.
Andrea Kaminski, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, said this was the right ruling and her organization believes the upcoming election is very important to vote in, regardless of which candidate a voter supports.
“If you’re a qualified citizen, you should be allowed to vote, and if this injunction was lifted, qualified citizens would not be able to get a ballot, and that would be bad,” Kaminski said.
