Wisconsin Veterans Will Be Able to Present Health Cards to Vote—Finally

Five years after Scott Walker and Wisconsin Republicans enacted their restrictive photo voter ID law meant to obstruct non-GOP-voting citizens from voting, Republicans are finally adding Veteran Health Identification Cards (VHIC) or (VIC) to the list of acceptable IDs in the newest Republican election bill drafted to keep Republicans in power, Senate Bill 295.

The spectacle of many disabled and homeless veterans—whose only form of ID is the VIC—has proven too politically unsavory for Republicans in a presidential election year, (Mal Contends Sept. 2011; Mal Contends Nov. 2103; Mal Contends July 2012).

"The substitute amendment adds a veterans identification card to the list of specified documents that can be used as Voter ID. Under the substitute amendment, a voter may provide a veterans identification card issued by the Veterans Health Administration of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs as proof of identification," notes the Legislative Council Amendment Memo published last week.

Scott Walker is expected to sign a flurry of bills in March including the final version of Senate Bill 295.

This development follows the myriad election-related changes to state law Walker and Wisconsin Republicans have made to keep Republicans in political power, (Ferral, The Capital Times).

Republican Voter Obstruction Clocked on Election Day in Wisconsin

Today is Election Day in Wisconsin.

Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell and Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl are working with the UW-Madison Political Science Department (Kenneth Mayer) to quantify the effect on voters of the Republican voter obstruction project, specifically the mandated and narrow range of photo voter IDs as a new precondition to vote, (Neumann, WKOW-TV) (Novak, Wisconsin State Journal).

Today, Madison, Wisconsin poll workers (election inspectors) will time how long the voter ID requirement takes voters to satisfy, for the purpose of plugging the numbers into existing models at MIT using Queuing Theory to predict and quantify how congested polling places obstruct and delay voters.

Obstructing, delaying and frustrating voters remains a Republican Party political objective.

"There a coupe of different benefits for this initiative. It lets you the voter know how long the voter will have to wait, and voters can adjust their schedules. Secondly, it allows voting officials to make adjustments in administering polling places to help the voter," said Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell.

The Republican project of keeping away voters held in disfavor by the Republican Party comes as 300,000 Wisconsin voters are estimated to lack the necessary ID to vote.

Republicans (and only Republicans) mandated the photo voter ID requirement in 2011. Today's will be the first election in which a statewide race will be on the ballot mandating the Republican-demanded voter ID. Turnout is expected to be below 10 percent for this low turn-out state primary.

Veterans

After preventing veterans from using their Veterans Health Identification Cards (VIC) to satisfy the  photo voter ID condition, (Mal Contends Sept. 2011; Mal Contends Nov. 2103; Mal Contends July 2012), Republicans are expected to expand the list of acceptable voter IDs to include VICs which are issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, sources at the capitol say, likely in SB 295 as an amendment.

Stopping veterans from voting is not politically wise in a presidential election year.

Time

Today at a Fitchburg, Wisconsin polling station, the extra time at this low-turnout election for this voter as the sole voter at the polling place is some 34 seconds, a time that would be compounded substantially in a busy election day such as April 5 (Wisconsin presidential primary day) and November 8.

Congested election days have been engineered by Wisconsin Republicans since 2011 through a host of election changes designed both to stop people from voting and making it more difficult to vote.

Wisconsin Republicans Want to Kill More Local Control, Block Access to Voting

Mary Spicuzza reports in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel this weekend more Republican schemes to stop voters and enact punishing measures on working class families.

A pair of Republican lawmakers are circulating a proposal that would prohibit county and town governments from issuing — or spending money on — photo identification cards.

The legislation would also bar photo ID cards issued by cities or villages from being used for things like voting or obtaining public benefits, such as food stamps.

Critics say the legislation is an attack on local control and is targeting a plan recently approved by city and county officials in Milwaukee to issue local identification cards to the homeless, immigrants in the country illegally and other residents unable to obtain state driver's licenses or other residents unable to obtain state driver's licenses or other government-issued ID cards. They also say the bill is an example of anti-immigrant discrimination.

Destroying voting rights and community democracy is destroying human rights. Such a project in intended to keep Republicans in office and is a continuation of past voter obstruction efforts.

The Republican project is to bash low-income families in nihilistic service to plutocrats and far-rightist ideologues.

Wisconsin Voter ID Challenge Is Back on Track

Veterans will cheat on Election Day, implies
Scott Walker

Update: Oral arguments were heard April 7, 2016 at the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit for Frank v. Walker, (15-3582 Ruthelle Frank v. Scott Walker), arguing a narrower set of issues. One Wisconsin Institute v. Nichol (U.S. District Court of the Western District of Wisconsin (Case 15-cv-324)) is expected to got to trial in May or June 2016.

Update: Opinion and Order Denying Plaintiffs' Motion for Permanent Injunction and Class Certification, and Dismissing Remaining Claims (PDF) (filed 10/19/15)

Hope is back Wisconsin voters can defeat Republican-backed photo voter ID obstruction.

Updated - Voting rights plaintiffs argued in a hearing October 5, 2015 a legal motion, moving for a permanent injunction, class certification, and judgment on remaining claims against the Republican-enacted Voter ID statute in the case, Ruthelle Frank, et al., v. Scott Walker et al (No. 14A352).

Though the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the Frank (14-803) case in March, 2015 (MoritzLaw), yesterday's hearing in U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman's court breathes new life into the case. Adelman is a judge in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

While Gov. Scott Walker tweeted yesterday, "Our photo ID law makes it easy to vote but hard to cheat," voting rights advocates argued the opposite on behalf of veterans, low-income, elderly, minority, college and vocational students.

Wisconsin's photo voter ID law was crafted by Republicans to allow only a narrow range of IDs as a condition to vote, even disallowing the use of U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Veterans Health Identification Cards (VIC) (Mal Contends Sept. 2011; Mal Contends Nov. 2103; Mal Contends July 2012).

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 49,933 veterans are homeless on any given night (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans). Many homeless veterans have VICs as their only means of identification.

The AP reported today, "Attorney Sean Young, of the ACLU Voting Rights Project, asked for the judge to make changes in time for the February [2016] primary. He said the law as written violates the Constitution's equal protection clause." (Moore, ABC News)

Since March 2015, voting rights plaintiffs have made a series of motions in Frank revealing a strategy to ensure citizens can vote, as Scott Walker and Republicans work diligently to stop voters.

"Photo IDs issued by the Department of Veteran Affairs ... are not acceptable photo ID for voting purposes," is language no longer on the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board Voter Photo ID Law-Frequently Asked Questions informational site, though this language was displayed in September 2011 (Mal Contends).

Another case against Wisconsin voter obstruction laws, One Wisconsin Institute v. Nichol, continues in the Western District of Wisconsin. The complaint was filed in May 2015.