Seventh Circuit refuses to stay Wisconsin voting rights decision.
On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7thCircuit refused to block a lower court decision invalidating large chunks of Wisconsin’s Republican-sponsored voting restrictions. The ruling effectively ensures that Wisconsin’s most burdensome new voting laws will not be in effect during the 2016 election, unless the Supreme Court intervenes—an extremely remote possibility. With this denial, the 7thCircuit joins a growing list of federal courts that are willing to question the impact of voting restrictions on minorities’ constitutionally protected right to vote.
The 7thCircuit’s refusal to stay the lower court’s ruling is especially remarkable in light of that decision’s broad holding. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson barred Wisconsin from enforcing a significant rollback on early voting—especially on days favored by black voters—along with more stringent components of the voter ID provision. Peterson found that these measures placed an undue burden on citizens’ right to vote and violated the First, 14th, and 15thamendments, as well as the Voting Rights Act. He also found that a Wisconsin law that slashed hours for in-person absentee voting intentionally discriminated on the basis of race, a serious charge against the state Legislature. In one startling passage, Peterson slammed Republican legislators for their “preoccupation with mostly phantom election fraud,” an obsession that “leads to real incidents of disenfranchisement, which undermine rather than enhance confidence in elections, particularly in minority communities.”
Earlier this month, the same panel of judges that refused to stay Peterson’s ruling agreed to stay a different judge’s decision softening other elements of Wisconsin’s voter ID requirements. The order would have allowed voters unduly burdened by the law to sign an affidavit instead of presenting ID. In its ruling, the 7thCircuit found that the district court hadn’t differentiated between individuals for whom the ID requirement presents a “substantial obstacle to voting” and those who could easily get an ID but don’t want to “make the effort.”
As election law expert Rick Hasen notes, the same panel’s willingness to let Peterson’s ruling stand is rather revealing. Even for these conservative-leaning judges, it seems, Wisconsin’s race-based early voting cuts go beyond the pale. And thanks to their willingness to peer beyond the Legislature’s laughably pretextual justifications for disenfranchisement, thousands more Wisconsin voters will be able to cast their ballots this November.
Tweet Share Share Comment(责任编辑:新闻中心)
- Understanding Relational vs. Non
- Every 'Simpsons' episode ever will make up the longest TV marathon in history
- Report highlights pain of Parkinson’s patients’ families
- A startup is buying teenagers' blood and selling it to the rich so they can live forever
- Blinken condemns Russia
- US to oppose North Korean worker dispatch to occupied Ukrainian territory: State Dept.
- Arteta hails Odegaard's leadership in Arsenal revival
- Man City's Guardiola says De Bruyne needs time to hit top gear
- Rooney vows to stay at Derby despite club entering administration
- 雅安公安接连破获两起汉源湖非法捕捞案
- Watching orcas swimming in the wild on live cam is why we have internet
- Steelers player has top
- Fewer Europe fans no worry for Harrington at Ryder Cup
-
Abrar Ahmed returns as Pakistan names squad for second Test against Bangladesh
ListentoarticlePakistan has announced its 12-member squad for the second Test against Bangladesh, se ...[详细] -
N. Korea behind recent mine explosion in DMZ: Defense Ministry
North Korea is believed to have masterminded the bloody explosion of land mines in the demilitarized ...[详细] -
It's not surprising that, as the tense debate about NFL players actions during the national anthem a ...[详细]
-
Team Europe rolls on in opening day of Laver Cup
LOS ANGELES:After a two-year wait due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Team Europe picked up where it left ...[详细] -
Jess McAllen ,July 25, 2024 Value Judgment ...[详细]
-
Arteta hails Odegaard's leadership in Arsenal revival
LONDON:Mikel Arteta hailed Martin Odegaard's leadership qualities on Tuesday (Sep 21) after the ...[详细] -
Elder brother of Samsung Group chairman dies at 84
Lee Maeng-hee, the elder brother of South Korea's Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, died on Friday ...[详细] -
本报讯当下,已进入鱼类繁殖季节,按照我市《关于全市天然水域实施全面禁捕的通告》规定,每年3月1日至6月30日、8月20日至9月25日全市天然水域禁止一切垂钓行为。为巩固长江流域禁捕成果,强化打击涉渔违 ...[详细]
-
With more ballot initiatives ready to go before voters, supporters of reproductive rights are hoping ...[详细]
-
A startup is buying teenagers' blood and selling it to the rich so they can live forever
Growing old: It's for the poors. Feasting on the vitality of the young in a scientifically questiona ...[详细]
Weather update for second Pak vs Ban second Test match day one
Facebook tries to make Pokes cool again with Hellos
- Apple's iPhone 17 will come with a huge RAM upgrade, report claims
- Sports Illustrated protests cover omits Colin Kaepernick
- Tensions flare again between two Koreas
- PSG rubbish L'Equipe report of Messi's 'giant 110m' salary
- PCB official under probe for conflict of interest
- Elderly bipolar disorder cases surge in South Korea
- N. Korean economic delegation returns from Iran amid suspected military ties