Politics

Supreme Court Upholds Wisconsin Voter ID Law

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Rachel Stoltzfoos Staff Reporter
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The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to Wisconsin’s 2011 voter ID law Monday, allowing a federal appeals court ruling in favor of the law to stand.

It’s too late for the law to be enforced for the state’s next election on April 7, but Attorney General Brad Schimel said voters will have to present photo ID to vote in future elections. “This decision is final,” he said in a statement, reported the Washington Post.

The Supreme Court’s decision is a potential blow to activists fighting similar laws around the country, and it’s a win for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who signed the measure into law. (RELATED: Wisconsin Is Ground Zero In The Voter ID Fight)

“For now, the voters of Wisconsin will be able to cast their ballots free from the burdens placed on them by this law,” Dale Ho, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. “But this should be the case for voters permanently, not just for one election.”

The law is relatively strict, and requires voters to show a current or recently expired Wisconsin driver’s license, a military ID, passport, tribal ID, recent naturalization certificate or certain Wisconsin student IDs. The Supreme’s Court’s decision was somewhat surprising, since it blocked the law from being enforced during the November election.

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