Monday, January 14, 2013
On Monday, the justices tossed a case challenging the 2011 Voter ID law back to the appellate court. This marks the third time the state's high court has declined to pick up the case.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court won't weigh in on the court challenge to the voter ID law, declining to pick up the case. Their decision means the case will stay before the Court of Appeals in Waukesha, according to the Journal-Sentinel. The law in question, approved by the Legislature in 2011, requires voters to show a photo ID at the polls. But there were legal challenges, and two Dane County judges struck down the law. One said the Legislature did not have the power to impose a photo ID requirement on voters, the JS reported, and the other found the photo ID requirement "placed an unreasonable burden on the right to vote." This refusal—included as a pdf above—marks the third time the Supreme Court has declined to take up the issue. …
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Having Voter ID in place for the November elections looks unlikely now that the state's highest court has refused to hear either of two cases where the law was ruled unconstitutional.
The state Supreme Court has refused to hear arguments about Voter ID because one case has yet to go through the appellate court. This means come November, voters will not be required to show a photo ID before casting a ballot. WisPolitics.com is reporting that justices issued two brief orders; one of which called state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's petition to jump over the appeals court as "premature." According to a story on JSOnline.com, if they take up the case at all, justices would prefer to hear both cases at once. Van Hollen issued a statement shortly after the decision was made public: The Voter ID law protects the integrity of our elections. Injunctions entered by circuit court judges, acting alone, have already kept this …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
After the state's highest court refused to hear the cases, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said Tuesday he will appeal to the state's Supreme Court, asking it to overturn two Dane County judges' rulings that the law is unconstitutional.
State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is pushing to have the state's Voter ID law in effect for the November election cycle, once again urging the Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn the rulings of two Dane County judges. The law requiring voters to present identification at the polls was in effect for the Feb. 21 primary, but was later ruled unconstitutional twice in one week in March by two separate judges, in response to suits filed by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Milwaukee and immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera. Van Hollen announced Tuesday morning he would ask the state's highest court to take up the two rulings, bypassing the state Court of …
Monday, May 7, 2012
Tuesday is primary day in Wisconsin's recall elections. Here is the information you need to head to the polls in Wauwatosa.
Voters across the state will head to the polls Tuesday to narrow down the field of candidates running for governor, lieutenant governor and, in some cases, state senator in the June 5 recall elections. Republican Gov. Scott Walker faces recall after opponents turned in hundreds of thousands of signatures in an effort to boot him from office. Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and four Republican state senators also face recall challenges. On the ballot in Tuesday's primary election are the Democrats who hope to take Walker on in June and one person running against Walker as a Republican. The candidates, in the order they appear on the ballot, are: Republican candidates: Walker and Arthur Kohl-Riggs. Democratic candidates: Gladys R. Huber, Kathleen…
Thursday, April 19, 2012
The Dane County judge presiding over the lawsuit for Voter ID has set a brief schedule that puts any resolution several weeks past the June 5 recall election.
Any hope that the Voter ID issue could be resolved in time for the spring recall elections died today when Judge David Flanagan set the briefing schedule for the case. According to a story from The Associated Press, Flanagan set the schedule so final briefs are not due until two weeks after the recall elections conclude. The judge said he chose the dates because Voter ID is complicated and attorneys need time to properly draft their arguments. Flanagan issued a temporary injunction last month after the Milwaukee branch of the NAACP and Voces de la Frontera filed a lawsuit alleging that the Voter ID law disenfranchised too many voters. A four-day bench trial over which Flanagan presided wrapped up Thursday, but he didn't hear oral arguments…
Monday, April 16, 2012
The high court's decisions mean that the appeals court will hear the cases first. A trial that started today will continue.
The state Supreme Court Monday refused to hear Voter ID cases stemming from suits brought by two different plaintiffs. Justices issued one-page opinions on each of the lawsuits from the Milwaukee NAACP and the League of Women Voters, but declined to comment on why they refuse to hear either one, according to WisPolitics.com. A temporary injunction was issued first by one Dane County judge and a permanent injuction was issued by another. There is a trial that started today and now will proceed based on lawsuits filed by the Milwaukee branch of the NAACP and Voces de la Frontera. Both groups claim the law, which requires voters to show a photo ID before they can cast a ballot, disenfranchises minorities, the elderly, the disabled and …
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Written requests for ballots need to be in Thursday, voting closes at end of day Friday.
It's your last chance: If you want to cast an absentee ballot in the Tuesday's election, you still have two days to do so, and two deadlines to meet. The Wauwatosa City Clerk's office will mail out ballots through 4:30 p.m. Thursday upon receiving a written request; and your ballot must be filed back with that office by 5 p.m. Friday. Doing that both ways by mail would be a tricky process, since you must file a written, signed request for a ballot before one can be sent to you. But the clerk's office tries to make it easier than that, if you can get over to City Hall. "They would need to write a letter, but they can drop it off at the desk," said Deputy City Clerk Susan Van Hoven. "We do have applications here, and they could fill it out …
Monday, March 12, 2012
Voters will not have to show a photo ID when they head to the polls on April 3, but they will still have to have certain residency requirements.
After ruling last week that a lawsuit from the League of Women Voters could move forward, Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess Monday issued a permanent injunction blocking implementation of the state's new Voter ID law. This is the second time the controversial law has been struck down in less than a week. Just a few days ago, Judge David Flanagan issued a temporary stop in answer to lawsuits filed by the Milwaukee NAACP and Voces de la Frontera, and at least two other groups. While that ruling took away the requirement to show a photo ID, other measures remained in place, such as requiring voters to sign a poll book and to live in the same district where they will cast their ballot for 28 consecutive days. Reid Magney, spokesman for …
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Judge who issued injunction is up for re-election April 3 and signed recall petition. A permanent request for injunction goes to trial on April 16.
Updated at 7 p.m. Tuesday with comment from state Government Accountability Board and calls by GOP to investigate judge. Requiring registered state voters to show a photo ID to cast their ballots on April 3 is on hold. Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan granted an injunction Tuesday, effectively blocking the law, known as Act 23. A trial for a permanent injunction begins on April 16. Flanagan is up for re-election April 3, unopposed, and signed a petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker on Nov. 15, the first day signatures could be collected (petition attached in photo gallery). Flanagan has not yet returned a call to Patch for comment, however, the state Republican Party has called for an investigation into the decision. "The very fact …
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
But that didn't preclude some from testing the law, putting stickers on their driver's licenses and showing their frustration.
Some voters were a little disgruntled when they found out they had to show an "acceptable" form of identification at the polls for the Feb. 21, 2012 primary election. But most voted anyway. For the first time, voters were required to show a photo ID before they could receive a ballot. Some said the new voter ID law would prevent people from even showing up to the polls, and they said that the law discriminates against people who are poor and homeless. Criticism aside, area clerks and poll workers said yesterday went off without a hitch. That didn't keep some from testing the limits, however. One Mount Pleasant man refused to vote when he found out his veteran's identification card wasn't acceptable, and a person in Caledonia thought they …
CowDung
9:12 am on Thursday, January 17, 2013
Apparently so. You need to have one or more of the following: --Valid U.S. passport or passport card. --U.S. State or local government issued Certificate of Birth. (Wisconsin will not accept Puerto Rican birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010 in line with Puerto Rico’s law as of October 30, 2010. More information at: www.pr.gov). --Consular report of birth abroad. --Valid I-551, permanent … more ›