Judge: Wisconsin Residents Who Lack ID Can Vote in November Election

WISCONSIN -- Voters who do not have an ID card or who are unable to obtain one can officially vote in the November election after a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

According to a report published by the Journal Sentinel this afternoon, Wisconsin voters who don't have IDs will be able to cast ballots by signing affidavits swearing they are who they say they are, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman in Milwaukee creates a "safety valve" for voters who have difficulties getting IDs and thus have been unable to cast ballots under the state's 2011 voter ID law,the Journal Sentinel reported.

The ruling will allow voters to use affidavits instead of IDs to vote in the Nov. 8 presidential election. The affidavit policy will not be in place during the August 9 primary for congressional and state legislative races.

Voter IDs Long and Winding Road in Wisconsin

Tuesday's ruling marks the latest chapter in the long-running legal saga over voter ID in Wisconsin. The law was blocked for years by court decisions, but went back into effect this year after overcoming those initial challenges.

The website Ballotpedia has a full timeline of events for Wisconsin's voter ID law.

Behold the complexity:

1. January 27, 2011: The bill was introduced to the Wisconsin State Assembly.[3]
2. May 9, 2011: The Joint Finance Committee approved the bill iby a 12-2 vote.[4]
3. May 11, 2011: The Wisconsin State Assembly approved the proposed bill by a vote of 60-35.[5]
4. May 17, 2011: The Wisconsin State Senate approved the bill by a 19-14 vote.[6]
5. May 25, 2011: Governor Scott Walker signed the bill into law.[3]
6. June 9, 2011: The legislation was published.[6]
7. October 20, 2011: The Wisconsin chapter of the League of Women Voters filed a lawsuit in Dane County Court challenging the law.[7]
8. December 13, 2011: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Wisconsin, and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that the law was unconstitutional and denied citizens the right to vote.[8]
9. February 21, 2012: Photo identification was required to vote in the primary election.
10. March 6, 2012: Dane County Judge David Flanagan ruled that the requirement could not be enforced for the April 3 presidential primary and local elections.[9]
11. March 12, 2012: Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess ruled that the law violated the state constitution.[9] Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen appealed the decision.[3][9]
12. April 29, 2014: Judge Lynn Adelman blocked the photo ID requirement, ruling that it violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. She concluded that about 300,000 Wisconsin residents currently did not have identification that would fulfill the requirements and that the law would "prevent more legitimate votes from being cast than fraudulent votes."
13. July 31, 2014: The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the identification requirement. The ruling was made under appeal, requiring a federal appeals court to overturn it for the requirement to be in effect for the November 4 elections.[10]
14. September 12, 2014: A three-member panel of the Seventh Circuit court determined that the photo identification requirements could take effect immediately.
15. September 26, 2014: The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals determined that a hearing of the full court would not be held. The 10-member court voted on whether to hold a hearing and were split 5 -5. A majority is required to grant the request for a full hearing.[3]
16. October 9, 2014: the United States Supreme Court ordered that the requirement not take effect for the November 4, 2014, elections.[11]
17. March 23, 2015: The United States Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge against the law, thereby allowing the law to take full effect. Wisconsin state officials announced that the law would not be enforced for the election taking place on April 7, 2015, but would be enforced for subsequent elections.[2][1]
18. April 12, 2016: The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ordered a lower federal court to reconsider a case challenging Wisconsin's voter identification law.