Dead voter suppression.
Via Journal Times
In a stunningly fast decision, a federal appeals court in Chicago reinstated Wisconsin’s voter photo identification law on Friday — just hours after three Republican-appointed judges heard arguments on reactivating the hotly debated law in time for the November election.
In a brief order, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said, “The State of Wisconsin may, if it wishes … enforce the photo ID requirement in this November’s elections.”
Wisconsin officials wasted no time in saying they would do just that.
“We are taking every step to fully implement the voter photo ID law for the November general election,” said Kevin Kennedy, the state’s top election official. “We are now focused on communicating with local election officials and voters, and will have more information about the details next week.”
Some Democrats expressed outrage.
“This ruling will disenfranchise Wisconsin voters and lower voter turnout in this fall’s election,” Democratic state Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, of Milwaukee, said in a statement.[…]
During an hourlong hearing Friday morning, the panel sounded skeptical about depictions of the law as discriminatory.
Under the 2011 measure, those arriving at polling stations must produce a government-issued ID with a photo to vote. Because of legal challenges, the requirement had not been enforced since the February 2012 primary.
Similar disputes have arisen in nearly a dozen other states, including Pennsylvania and Texas. Republicans who back such laws say they’re designed to combat voter fraud. Critics say they’re crafted to keep Democratic-leaning constituencies — such as minorities and poor people — from voting.