Penn Undergraduate Law Journal
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • Masthead
    • Faculty Advisory Board
    • Partner Journals
    • Sponsors
  • Submissions
  • Full Issues
  • The Roundtable
    • Pre-Law Corner
  • Events
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Apply
    • FAQs
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • Masthead
    • Faculty Advisory Board
    • Partner Journals
    • Sponsors
  • Submissions
  • Full Issues
  • The Roundtable
    • Pre-Law Corner
  • Events
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Apply
    • FAQs

The Roundtable


Welcome to the Roundtable, a forum for incisive commentary and analysis
on cases and developments in law and the legal system.


INTERESTED IN wRITING FOR tHE rOUNDTABLE?

Excluding Valid Voters? Wisconsin's ID Laws

10/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture


 By Alexandra Aaron

Alexandra Aaron is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying History and Political Science.

Do you have “government approved” photo identification?

Most people have driver’s licenses, passports or Student IDs from accredited universities or colleges. However, there are many who do not possess these forms of identification.  For those who live in Wisconsin, this is now an issue.

In 2011, Governor Scott Walker signed a bill into law that would require government-issued or approved picture identification in order to vote. This Republican-backed law has drawn considerable opposition from Democrats and those that view this measure as an attempt to disenfranchise a socioeconomic demographic of low-income voters that are more likely to vote for Democratic candidates. 

 
Opponents of the law were quick to challenge its constitutionality. The ACLU filed suit on behalf of Ruthelle Frank against Governor Scott Walker arguing that the law imposes a severe burden on the right to vote, a violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. They also charge that it imposes an unconstitutional poll tax on eligible voters in violation of the 14th and 24th Amendments. [1] This past April, a United States District Court Judge issued a permanent injunction against the law, which was quickly reversed by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, allowing the law to take immediate effect. With the 2014 midterm elections imminent, hundreds of thousands of voters are at stake. This ruling will have significant implications this November, particularly for those who endorsed the law—including Walker, who faces a tough general election.

Intended to combat voter fraud, the law’s objective has drawn criticism from those who cite its proponents’
failure to provide more than two instances where fraud occurred in previous elections during litigation. [2] Whether or not voter fraud is in fact an issue in Wisconsin, it’s possible the law intended to solve the alleged problem will disenfranchise an entire class of citizens by creating an economic burden.

So, does this law violate equal protection?

In the 1890s, Southern states instituted poll taxes and literacy tests designed to disenfranchise African Americans who had, just two decades earlier, been granted suffrage with the ratification of the 15th Amendment. A series of Supreme Court decisions found these measures to be unconstitutional under equal protection, culminating in the 1965 Civil Rights Act that prohibited the imposition of such qualifications.

Restricting suffrage to those that could read and write, as a means of measuring competency necessary to participate in the democratic process, was a common measure implemented throughout the 19th century. Requiring photo identification to vote as a means of protecting the democratic process may seem reasonable at first glance. However legitimate its intent, the ramifications of this law merit consideration.

It is estimated that this law will disenfranchise 11 percent of eligible voters, [3] including 4.5 percent of African American and other minority voters. [4] Frank, the plaintiff and an eligible voter, is 86 years old and lacks a copy of her birth certificate, which she would need in order to apply for photo ID at the Department of Motor Vehicles. To replace her birth certificate would cost upwards of $200, a sum that she and many others in similar circumstances cannot afford.

The legislators who voted this measure into law were, for the most part, not elected by the individuals they have acted to disenfranchise. In November the impact of this legislation on their reelection efforts will be determined.

 

[1] Frank v. Walker: Fighting Voter Suppression in Wisconsin, https://www.aclu.org/voting-rights/frank-v-walker-fighting-voter-suppression-wisconsin (accessed September 20, 2014).
[2] New Voter ID Law is Misguided, http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/opinion/new-voter-id-law-is-misguided/article_e420e5c6-3eed-11e4-811d-63af9816c67f.html (accessed September 20, 2014).
[3] http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=124501321 (accessed September 21, 2014)
[4] Wisconsin Voter ID Law Will Disenfranchise Minorities, Young Voters, http://badgerherald.com/oped/2014/09/18/voter-id-law/#.VCJ1C_ldVps (accessed September 20, 2014)


Photo credit: Flickr User Brendan C
 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    Akshita Tiwary
    Alana Bess
    Alana Mattei
    Albert Manfredi
    Alexander Saeedy
    Alexandra Aaron
    Alexandra Kanan
    Alice Giannini
    Alicia Augustin
    Alicia Kysar
    Ally Kalishman
    Ally Margolis
    Alya Abbassian
    Anika Prakash
    Anna Schwartz
    Ashley Kim
    Astha Pandey
    Audrey Pan
    Benjamin Ng'aru
    Brónach Rafferty
    Bryce Klehm
    Cary Holley
    Christina Gunzenhauser
    Christine Mitchell
    Christopher Brown
    Clarissa Alvarez
    Cole Borlee
    Connor Gallagher
    Dan Spinelli
    Dan Zhang
    David Katz
    Davis Berlind
    Derek Willie
    Dhilan Lavu
    Edgar Palomino
    Edna Simbi
    Emma Davies
    Esther Lee
    Evelyn Bond
    Filzah Belal
    Frank Geng
    Gabriel Maliha
    Georgia Ray
    Graham Reynolds
    Habib Olapade
    Hailie Goldsmith
    Haley Son
    Harshit Rai
    Henry Lininger
    Hetal Doshi
    Iris Zhang
    Irtaza Ali
    Isabela Baghdady
    Ishita Chakrabarty
    Jack Burgess
    Jessica "Lulu" Lipman
    Joe Anderson
    Jonathan Lahdo
    Jonathan Stahl
    Joseph Squillaro
    Justin Yang
    Kaitlyn Rentala
    Kanishka Bhukya
    Katie Kaufman
    Kelly Liang
    Keshav Sharma
    Ketaki Gujar
    Lauren Pak
    Lavi Ben Dor
    Libby Rozbruch
    Lindsey Li
    Luis Bravo
    Lyndsey Reeve
    Madeline Decker
    Maja Cvjetanovic
    Maliha Farrooz
    Marco DiLeonardo
    Margaret Lu
    Matthew Caulfield
    Michael Keshmiri
    Mina Nur Basmaci
    Muskan Mumtaz
    Natalie Peelish
    Natasha Darlington
    Natasha Kang
    Nayeon Kim
    Nicholas Parsons
    Nicholas Williams
    Nicole Greenstein
    Nihal Sahu
    Omar Khoury
    Owen Voutsinas Klose
    Owen Voutsinas-Klose
    Pheby Liu
    Rachel Bina
    Rachel Gu
    Rachel Pomerantz
    Rebecca Heilweil
    Regina Salmons
    Sajan Srivastava
    Sandeep Suresh
    Sanjay Dureseti
    Sarah Simon
    Saranya Das Sharma
    Saranya Sharma
    Sasha Bryski
    Saxon Bryant
    Sean Foley
    Sebastian Bates
    Serena Camici
    Shahana Banerjee
    Shannon Alvino
    Shiven Sharma
    Siddarth Sethi
    Sneha Parthasarathy
    Sneha Sharma
    Sophie Lovering
    Steven Jacobson
    Suaida Firoze
    Suprateek Neogi
    Takane Shoji
    Tanner Bowen
    Taryn MacKinney
    Thomas Cribbins
    Todd Costa
    Tyler Larkworthy
    Vatsal Patel
    Vikram Balasubramanian
    Vishwajeet Deshmukh
    Wajeeha Ahmad
    Yeonhwa Lee

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

Picture
Picture
​