Wisconsin’s Supreme Court said Thursday it will not immediately rule on lower courts’ decisions blocking the state’s Voter ID law, further suggesting the law will likely not be in place for the Nov. 6 presidential election.
Earlier this year, two Dane County judges ruled the law unconstitutional in two different cases. The law, which requires voters to present a valid photo ID at polling places before voting, has not taken effect since the rulings.
Republicans argue the law will ensure the integrity of the voting process, but Democrats say it is unconstitutional and disproportionately affects minority, low-income and young voters. The League of Women Voters and the Milwaukee branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People brought on the two cases.
State Attorney General JB Van Hollen, representing Gov. Scott Walker and Republican legislators, filed appeals to the Dane County judges’ decision and asked for a stay on the ruling, so the law would remain in effect until an appeals court or the state Supreme Court hears the case.
Van Hollen tried to extradite the case to the Supreme Court rather than going through appeals courts, intending for a decision to be made before the November election.
But Thursday the court said it is “not feasible” to hear either case because it would like to consolidate the two cases into one, and necessary documentation has not yet been filed in the NAACP case.
“This court recognizes the importance of the issues raised in [the LWV] and NAACP [cases],” the Supreme Court said in Thursday’s order. “The two cases share a commonality of subject matter, and if we were to grant review, we would hear oral argument in both cases on the same day and would take both matters under advisement at the same time.”
Van Hollen said in a statement Thursday he is “very disappointed” the Supreme Court failed to act, especially because it means the injunction “will, in all likelihood, be in effect for the upcoming November elections.”
