Judge issues permanent injunction against Wisconsin Voter ID Law
By: by Caroline Rowland
Updated: March 23, 2012
MADISON, Wis. (WFRV)-- A second Dane County judge has ruled against the Wisconsin Voter ID law. The decision comes from a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters.
The group claims the voter ID law is unconstitutional, and Monday, March 12, 2012, Dane County Judge Richard Niess agreed, and has put a permanent injunction on the law, barring any further implementation.
"I was very concerned about the upcoming election had this not gone through," said Patricia Finder-Stone, with the League of Women Voters in Green Bay.
Finder-Stone considers Monday's ruling a victory, and believes it will be upheld.
"Our Wisconsin constitution it very specifically says who can vote and it gives us the right to vote and it doesn't say you have to have a photo id," said Finder-Stone.
Republicans who are in favor of the law believe it will prevent voter fraud. Representative John Nygren said he doesn't see the issue with it.
"All the clerks that i spoke with say the last election went off without a hitch with using voter i-d," said Nygren, "I'm pretty confident in the end that the law will prevail."
At this point the voter ID law will not be implemented for the April 3 elections.
Governor Walker's office released this statement about the ruling:
" It's a shame activist Dane County judges continue to stand in the way of common sense.
Requiring photo identification to vote is common sense--we require it to get a library card, cold medicine, and public assistance. Governor Walker looks forward to implementing common sense reforms that protect the electoral process and increases citizens' confidence in the results of our elections.
Ensuring the integrity of our elections is one of the core functions of government.
We are confident the state will prevail in its plan to implement photo ID."
