This week in the war on voting is a joint project of Meteor Blades and Joan McCarter.
Wisconsin continues to provide serious drama in the fight against a punitive voter ID law, passed in 2011 but stopped by injunction until a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a few weeks ago that it should be implemented for the November elections. A brief filed in an appeal to that ruling to the full panel of the 7th Circuit focuses on the logistical impossibility of the state's DMV offices to provide voter IDs to all the voters that lack them before election day, Nov. 4. The three judge panel ruled that Wisconsin's law was comparable to Indiana's, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Advancement Project, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, and the American Civil Liberties Union argue, however, that the voters in Indiana had much greater access to DMV services. The challengers calculated that in order for all of the 300,000 voters in the state who don't have ID to get them, the state's DMV offices would have to process an average of 20 voters every single hour they will operate between now and November 4.
That argument did not sway enough of the judges on the full court, however. On Friday, the 10-judge panel rejected the plaintiffs' request for a rehearing. That means the state is free to implement the law before the November 4 election, and upwards of 300,000 people will be denied the opportunity to vote. The court was evenly split on the issue, and thus one vote short of reconsidering the earlier decision. The challengers are considering an appeal to the Supreme Court. At Election Low Blog, Rick Hasen says the groups should do so, in part because "this is a really egregious order changing the rules midstream in violation of the Supreme Court’s own admonition in the Purcell v. Gonzalez case." The Supreme Court has a similar case before it now from Ohio. Hasen believes presenting the cases together could be beneficial, as could the very likely problems Wisconsin voters will have in obtaining IDs.
And in another challenge to the law, brought by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin in state courts, a Dane County judge has refused to follow the order of the state Supreme Court to dismiss the case. Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess has instead recused himself, stating that dismissing the case "would violate my oath to 'support ... the constitution of the State of Wisconsin.'" He had ruled that the state constitution only allowed the state to exclude felons and the mentally incompetent from voting, and that this law unconstitutionally created a third class—those without voter IDs. The Supreme Court's dismissal will stand, but kudos to Judge Niess for his principled stand.
For some embarrassing shows of lack of principle by officials, elected and otherwise, head below the fold. But first:
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- Idaho's Republican candidate for secretary of state wants to fingerprint voters: Bad Republican pennies just keep turning up again in Idaho. This one is Lawrence Denney, who was ousted from his position as state House Speaker in 2012 when he used his position to funnel party leadership PAC funds—donated by caucus members—to primary six Republican incumbents. Now Denney's looking for a position where he'll have less accountability. And he has big, nefarious plans, as outlined in his guest opinion in The Idaho Statesman: "One of my priorities is to work on measures to enhance the security of the election process, such as new technology that scans either signatures or fingerprints. There is a cost for increased security, and I hope to work with the Legislature to start the appropriate process for implementation as soon as possible." This is one instance in which you want to read the comments from readers. Denney's proposal is not going over well, to say the least.
- Federal appeals court hears North Carolina voter suppression case: On Friday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in a challenge to that state's 2013, law, one of the punitive in the country, which "shortened the days for early voting, ended programs to allow residents to register and vote on the same day, restricted the use of provisional ballots by voters who turn up at the wrong precincts, and eliminated a program that allowed 16 and 17 year olds to register early for future elections. In 2016, the plan also will require voters to show a photo ID at the polls. The appeals court will determine whether the law should be set aside for the 2014 election pending legal challenges scheduled to go to trial in July, 2015. A decision should be handed down in time for an update in this space next week.
- One of the plaintiffs in North Carolina is a 93 year-old woman who lived under Jim Crow.
Rosanell Eaton was talking to her daughter at home in Louisburg, North Carolina, not long ago when she suddenly lowered her voice and looked strangely deflated. “You know, all of this is coming back around before I could get in the ground,” she said. “I was hoping I would be dead before I’d have to see all this again.”
And then there was the day in 1939 when Rosanell turned 18 and gained the right to vote. She was a vibrant young woman, eager to learn and engage with the world, and determined to have her electoral say at the first chance. But when she arrived at Franklin County courthouse, she was met by three white officials.
“What are you here for, young lady?” one of them asked.
“I’m here to register to vote,” she said.
The men looked at each other, then back at her. “Stand in front of us,” she was instructed. “Look directly at us. Don’t turn your head to the right, nor to the left. Now repeat the preamble to the constitution of the United States.”
Rosanell did recite the preamble and is both horrified by being here again, and determined to win, again.
- Kochs' AFP sends out incorrect voter registration information in North Carolina: Voters—and one cat—across North Carolina have received a voter registration mailer from the Kochs' Americans for Prosperity, giving all kind of misinformation on registration: a wrong deadline, an incorrect address to return forms to, and a made-up office for people to call to get more information. As of now, the State Board of Elections says that "no one has alleged" that AFP distributed the misinformation intentionally in an effort to suppress the vote, which is a felony. Yeah, right.
- Closing arguments in Texas voter ID challenge: The Justice Department sued Texas over strict voter ID laws in a case that went to trial September 2. In closing arguments on Monday, plaintiffs argued that Texas's long history of bias showed the state's intent in passing this was to discriminate. Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of United States District Court, an Obama nominee, is expected to rule before the election.
- Voter fraud actually happens, and of course it's a by a Republican candidate: Because it always is. Always. Kathy Myalls is running for the Illinois state legislature but her heart seems to be in Wisconsin. Technically, this isn't actually fraud since she's not voting in the same election in different places, but it's still pretty damned stinky.
In one case, she cast a vote in a primary election in Illinois. Then just three months later, records show she voted in Wisconsin to cast a ballot in the state’s recall election. The effort was aimed largely at recalling Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker—someone with whom Myalls is pictured on her Facebook page. Myalls then voted in Wisconsin’s presidential general election in 2012 before returning to Illinois to vote the following spring.
- ICYMI, Fox & Friends ponders bringing back polling tests. Because of course they do.