Wisconsin's Voter ID Requirement approved by Supreme Court

New voter identification law, made official last Monday March 23rd, which will be requiring all Wisconsin state residents to present a photo ID when voting in future elections, has been causing an uproar with the Democrats, who believe that this law is in place to suppress the turnout of minority voters and other groups, such as illegal aliens, who would not have ID, that tend to vote for Democrats. The law was originally passed in 2011, however the U.S. Supreme Court had put it on hold due to a few complaints brought to it by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) with claims that the law is unconstitutional. The governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, proposed the law in 2011 with the intention to prevent voter fraud. During the last election, someone stole Vice President Joe Biden’s vote to demonstrate how easy it is.

Wisconsin will not be the first state to initiate a mandatory photo ID voting restriction. As of 2014, 7 other states have strict photo identification policies: Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Kansas, and Indiana. While other states like Florida, have a ‘photo ID request’ policy, it is still not mandatory just optional. Most states, according to National Conference of State Legislatures have a ‘no document required to vote’ policy as well as an ‘ID requested; photo not required’ rules. Most states that require photo ID are Republican dominated, like Wisconsin.

Wisconsin does not plan to leave its residences without options. It will actually be offering free photo ID cards for those without IDs who want to vote; the only catch is that the individuals have to provide proof of residency as well as a birth certificate to prove their identification, which is standard procedure for ID cards anyways. Voters should plan ahead for this as these processes can take a long time but at least this opportunity will be available for those who do not already have a driver’s license or any other form of photo identification.