Federal appeals court refuses to reconsider Wisconsin voter ID law News
Federal appeals court refuses to reconsider Wisconsin voter ID law

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website] on Friday denied [text, PDF] an emergency petition for a full en banc rehearing regarding the Wisconsin voter identification law [CNN report]. A federal court in July decided that voters who do not have a required form of ID can vote through an affidavit process [JURIST report], a win for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed the lawsuit [ACLU backgrounder]. However, earlier this month the court of appeals granted a stay [text, PDF] allowing the requirements for voting ID to remain in place. The court of appeals denied the en banc hearing based on the state’s assurances that a new rule will allow all eligible voters to receive the necessary ID for free through the DMV, notwithstanding the absence of identifying documents,

Voting rights remain a controversial legal issue in the US. The Illinois Supreme Court concluded [JURIST report] on Thursday that placing a redistricting proposal on the ballot this fall would be unconstitutional. Last month Michigan Attorney General spokesman John Sellek said [JURIST report] that Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson plan to appeal an injunction on the state’s law eliminating straight-ticket voting. Also last month, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane Larsen blocked [JURIST report] a ballot measure proposing an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that aimed to eliminate the General Assembly’s power to draw legislative district boundaries. In June a three-judge panel upheld [JURIST report] North Carolina’s newly drawn congressional districts. In May the US Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that Republican congressmen from Virginia’s lack standing to appeal a decision regarding an election district plan for Virginia’s Third Congressional District.