The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court ruling upholding Wisconsin’s voter ID law. The ACLU is challenging the law, which a federal judge struck down as unconstitutional and in violation of the Voting Rights Act last April. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision, but in October the Supreme Court placed the law on hold as the case winds its way through the courts.
Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said:
“Efforts to restrict access to the ballot demand a full and thorough hearing, which is why we are asking the Supreme Court to review this case and ultimately strike down Wisconsin’s voter ID law. Throughout years of litigation, Wisconsin has failed to identify a single instance of the type of fraud this law purportedly seeks to prevent. At the same time, it is absolutely clear this law would prevent thousands of voters from exercising the most fundamental right in our democracy. The Supreme Court has an opportunity now to help protect the right of all Americans to vote free from undue burdens.”
Karyn Rotker, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Wisconsin, said:
“We will continue to take all possible steps to ensure that all Wisconsin voters can exercise the right to vote – even if they are poor or homeless or disabled or for whatever other reason lack ID.”
The ACLU challenged the law on behalf of numerous Wisconsin voters, charging the measure violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The ACLU, the ACLU of Wisconsin, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and Dechert LLP are co-counsel in this case, Frank v. Walker. The Supreme Court petition was jointly filed with the League of United Latin American Citizens, represented by Arnold & Porter and the Advancement Project.
The petition is at: http://aclu-wi.org/sites/default/files/media/pdf/RuthellePetition.pdf
This press statement is at: http://aclu-wi.org/media/aclu-seeks-supreme-court-review-wisconsin-voter-id-case
More information about this case is at: https://www.aclu.org/voting-rights/frank-v-walker-fighting-voter-suppression-wisconsin
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