A federal judge on Tuesday struck down Wisconsin's voter ID law Tuesday, saying it violated the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. The law had already been blocked by a state judge. To be put back in place, supporters of the voter ID law would have to overturn both the state and federal decisions -- a possibility that appears unlikely between now and the Nov. 4 election for governor. In Tuesday's decision, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman in Milwaukee determined the law requiring voters to show one of a narrow set of photo IDs at the polls violated the federal Voting Rights Act and established an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote. He issued an injunction barring the law from being enforced.
A key quote: "virtually no voter impersonation occurs in Wisconsin and it is exceedingly unlikely that voter impersonation will become a problem in Wisconsin in the foreseeable future." Another quote: "Perhaps the reason why photo ID requirements have no effect on confidence or trust in the electoral process is that such laws undermine the public's confidence in the electoral process as much as they promote it."