The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin announced in a Tuesday statement it plans to file a request for a rehearing of the voter ID ruling from Sept. 12.
Late last Friday, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals released an order, without the judges’ opinions, which allowed Wisconsin to reinstate a 2011 law that requires registered voters to present a valid photo ID to vote.
Gov. Scott Walker released a statement after the Friday ruling calling it a “win … for voters in Wisconsin” and adding that the law would make voting easier and cheating harder.
The referral for a rehearing in the same court is known as “en banc” and usually includes the entire bench of judges in a particular court rather than the typical three-judge panel.
According to University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of political science David Canon, it is likely the Court will accept the ACLU’s referral due to the “significance” and “timeliness” of the case.
Canon pointed out there are several ways the Court could go about receiving the case. He said the Court could expedite the process in order to reach a decision before the statewide elections in November or the Court could place a hold on the voter ID law while the Court reviews the case.
Canon also speculated the Court could overturn the previous ruling on procedural grounds.
“It’s fairly unusual to put a law back into effect without actually issuing the ruling,” he said.
