In the Courts Archives - Page 16 of 25 - Voting Integrity Institute

Trial Begins in Texas Voter ID Law Case

(Reuters) - A U.S. court in Texas heard arguments on Tuesday in a case over a law requiring voters to present photo identification, a move the state's Republican leaders say will prevent fraud and which plaintiffs claim is an attempt at suppressing minority turnout. The case is also part of a new strategy by the Obama administration to challenge voting laws it says discriminate by race in order to counter a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that freed states from strict federal oversight. The trial that started on Tuesday at the U.S. District Court in Corpus Christi stems from a battle over stringent voter ID measures signed into law by Texas Governor Rick Perry, a Republican, in 2011. The law requires voters to present a photo ID such as a concealed handgun license or driver's license, but it excludes student IDs as invalid.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:45+00:00September 3rd, 2014|In the Courts, News, Vote Fraud, Voter ID|

Appeals Court Delays Wisconsin Voter ID Ruling

MADISON (AP) - A federal appeals court put off a decision until next month on whether to put Wisconsin's voter ID law back in place. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen had asked the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the voter ID law while it considers a lower court ruling that found the requirement to present a photo ID at the polls violated the U.S. Constitution and Voting Rights Act. Wisconsin's Republican-led Legislature passed the photo ID requirement and Gov. Scott Walker signed it in 2011.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:45+00:00August 25th, 2014|In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Voter ID Law

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld a 2011 law backed by Republicans requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. The rulings in two separate voter ID cases were released Thursday morning among several major decisions issued simultaneously. The law already was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court judge in Milwaukee this spring, meaning that Thursday's rulings have no immediate effect. That federal court decision is under appeal. For the law to take effect, both the state Supreme Court and the federal courts would have to find it to be constitutional. In April, U.S. District Judge Lynn struck down the law, saying it violates the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. Gov. Scott Walker praised Thursday's rulings and said he was confident voter ID would ultimately be upheld in federal court. "Voter ID is a common-sense reform that protects the integrity of our elections," Walker said. "People need to have confidence in our electoral process and to know their vote has been properly counted. We look forward to the same result from the federal court of appeals."

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:46+00:00July 31st, 2014|In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

Court to Hear Texas Voter ID Case

In early September, a court in Corpus Christi begins a trial that should decide whether the current law requiring Texas voters to show government-issued photo identification before casting a ballot is constitutional. As it has happened with cases over redistricting, the Texas voter ID fight is expected to get national attention because two years ago a three-judge federal court in Washington ruled the 2011 legislation unconstitutional.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:46+00:00July 16th, 2014|In the Courts, News, Redistricting, Voter ID|

Judges and Voter ID

On April 29, federal-district-court judge Lynn Adelman -- a Clinton appointee, former Democratic state senator, and former Legal Aid Society lawyer -- held that Wisconsin's voter-ID requirement violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment, because it places "an unjustified burden on the right to vote." This decision has gotten a great deal of attention in the mainstream press (or the drive-by media, as Rush Limbaugh likes to calls them).What got almost no attention was a decision by another federal district court in Tennessee on February 20 over that state's voter-ID law. In that case, Judge Ronnie Greer upheld voter ID as constitutional.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:46+00:00May 21st, 2014|ACRU Commentary, In the Courts, Voter ID|

ACLU Sues over Pullback on Early Voting in Ohio

COLUMBUS - The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups filed a federal lawsuit on May 8 against Ohio's elections chief over limits to when voters can cast an early ballot in the perennial battleground state. Ohioans can cast an absentee ballot by mail or in person before Election Day without giving any reason. About 33 percent of those who voted in the 2012 presidential election cast an early ballot. The lawsuit filed in Columbus federal court claims that recent cuts to early voting will make it difficult for tens of thousands of residents to vote and will unfairly affect black voters, who the groups say are more likely to use weekend and evening hours to vote early in elections.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:07+00:00May 12th, 2014|Absentee / Mail-in Voting, Early Voting, In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

Big Win for Electoral Integrity in Arizona, Kansas

In a big victory for election integrity, Arizona and Kansas -- led by their Secretaries of State, Ken Bennett and Kris Kobach -- have obtained an order from a federal judge allowing them to enforce their proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration. In a decision issued on March 19, Judge Eric Melgren of the federal district court of Kansas found that the refusal of federal election authorities to add state-specific instructions to the federal voter-registration form notifying residents of Arizona and Kansas that they have to provide proof that they are U.S. citizens to complete their registration is "unlawful and in excess of its statutory authority."

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:07+00:00April 5th, 2014|ACRU Commentary, In the Courts, Proof of Citizenship, Voter ID|

ACRU’s Complaint against Zavala County, Texas

Washington, D.C. (March 28, 2014) —- The (ACRU) filed suit [...]

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:07+00:00March 28th, 2014|ACRU Complaints, In the Courts, Voter ID|

Judge Rules for Kansas, Arizona in Citizenship Voter ID Case

A U.S. District Court judge ruled Wednesday that Arizona and Kansas can require anyone registering to vote to prove their citizenship and the federal Election Assistance Commission cannot block them. The ruling is a boost for states' rights and marks a setback for President Obama and other liberals who fought stiffer voter ID checks with an argument that they reduce voter turnout.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:46+00:00March 21st, 2014|In the Courts, News, Proof of Citizenship, Voter ID|

Wisconsin Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Voter ID Case

MADISON - A Wisconsin law requiring voters to show identification at the polls went before the state's highest court Tuesday. The Wisconsin Supreme Court listened to arguments for more than three hours in front of a packed courtroom. Attorneys on both sides of the law faced questions from the court's justices. Justice Pat Roggensack told the state's attorney she's concerned some people have to pay $20 for a birth certificate, which they need to get an ID. "It's still a payment to the state to be able to vote. That bothers me, can you address that?" asked Roggensack. "Since the voter ID law was in place, or was going to be in place, there were some places in Wisconsin that offered free birth certificates," responded Clayton Kawski, an assistant Attorney General for Wisconsin. The law was enacted in 2011. It was in effect for a primary election in February 2012, but it was blocked soon after by a court order. It hasn't been in place since.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:35:16+00:00February 26th, 2014|In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

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