Scott Walker, Wisconsin Republicans Exposed as Frauds at Voting Rights Trial

A long-time and now-ex Fitchburg, Wisconsin chief election inspector voted in the Wisconsin Spring Election and Presidential Preference election held on April 5, 2016.

Al Potts resigned from the contract position because he wanted no part of perpetuating a fraud on voters through the imposition of Scott Walker and the Republicans' photo voter ID law because the law is intended to suppress voters and render voting as burdensome a process as possible, (Woodward Communications, Inc.).

After exchanging pleasantries with his former colleagues on April 5, Potts had to produce an acceptable photo voter ID to prove he really was Al Potts, a political moderate active in municipal and civic politics, but publicly apolitical in state and national politics.

Potts and voting rights advocates have been proven correct in their assessment of the Republican-enacted law which was found constitutional by Republicans on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in February 2104, and in federal court where a challenge to the law failed on a five-to-five vote at the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in late 2104, (Sommerhauser, WISC-TV), (Mal Contends).

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition to grant cert challenging the constitutionality of Wisconsin's voter ID law as a qualification to vote in March 2015, (USA Today).

A federal trial that began May 16, 2106, (One Wisconsin Institute v. Nichol), for the first time introduces evidence of the intent of Republicans to use photo voter ID to block voters by citing the words of Republican legislators, particularly citing voiced intent to frustrate and destroy the vote in "Milwaukee" and on "college campuses" to help win elections for Republicans, (Sneed, TPM; Opoien, The Capital Times).

A motion to hear testimony, evidence and exhibits citing the public and private words of Republican lawmakers to use the voter ID law to win elections by blocking disfavored voters was granted by U.S. District Judge James Peterson on May 13.

On May 16, testimony by one witness, former Republican staffer Todd Allbaugh, offered what appears to be just the beginning of devastating evidence against Wisconsin Republicans' illegal and outlandish intent at the trial.

Al Potts joins voting rights activists, and Judge Richard Posner of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in sounding the alarm about Wisconsin Republicans' destroying votes in Republicans' "efforts to disenfranchise voters likely to vote for the political party that does not control the state government," (Posner, Frank v. Walker).

The bench trial is scheduled to end on Thursday, May 26, 2016, (One Wisconsin Institute, Inc., et al v. Nichol, et al, p.1).

Wisconsin Voting Rights Trial: Ex-GOP Staffer Names Republican Senators Who Cheered Voter Suppression

"The former staffer to a Wisconsin state Republican senator who went public last month with accusations that the state's voter ID law was passed by GOPers looking for a political advantage elaborated on the claims in federal court Monday and identified the previously unnamed legislators he said were gleeful over the law."

Todd Allbaugh, testifying in a case challenging the law, named then-Sens. Mary Lazich, Glenn Grothman, Leah Vukmir and Randy Hopper as being 'giddy' in a 2011 private caucus meeting about passing the bill," (Journal Sentinel), reports Tierney Sneed, TPM. See also Opoien, The Capital Times.

The expected two-week trial, (One Wisconsin Institute v. Nichol (U.S. District Court of the Western District of Wisconsin (Case 15-cv-324)), began today and is expected to focus attention on Republican Party efforts to suppress as many perceived non-Republican voters as possible through a variety of changes to election law, supported by Republicans and only Republicans against unanimous Democratic Party and voting rights activists' opposition.

Though national political chatter often speaks of a crack in Republican Party unity, stopping non-Republican voters from voting is universally acclaimed, and supporting voting suppression is part of the price of admission to Republican politics.

U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson is presiding over the One Wisconsin bench trial.

The Democratic Party remains the party of voting rights, not a particularly popular position in the American political culture.

Earlier this month, Wisconsin's Democratic congressional delegation requested a U.S. DoJ review of the Wisconsin Voter ID law and other voter suppression tactics enacted into law by Wisconsin Republicans since 2011, (Mal Contends).