In the News

 

By Nicole Duran 

 

 

The four Democratic members of the Wisconsin delegation are asking Attorney General Eric Holder to challenge Wisconsin's voter identification law in light of his recent comments that the Justice Department might intervene in the case. 

 

"We thank you for your commitment to preserving the right to vote for all Americans, and we ask that you use every tool at your disposal to help us protect the rights of our constituents in Wisconsin," the quartet wrote Holder on Friday. 

 

"Act 23 is particularly harmful to our constituents because of the disproportionate impact it would have on seniors, students, African Americans, Hispanics and other vulnerable populations who are less likely to possess the forms of ID required under the Act," the Democrats' letter continues. 

 

"This law represents a blatant attempt to disenfranchise voters. We are deeply concerned that this law would have a negative impact on individuals' ability to vote," wrote Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Madison, and Democratic Reps. Ron Kind, LaCrosse, Gwen Moore, Milwaukee, and Mark Pocan, Madison. 

 

Holder recently told ABC News that DOJ might step in. 

 

"We have already filed suit in Texas and North Carolina," Holder said. "I expect that we are going to be filing in cases that are already in existence in Wisconsin, as well as in Ohio." 

 

In April, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman ruled that Wisconsin's voter ID law violated the Voting Rights Act. The issue is now before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. 

 

But if history is any indication, the Republican member of the delegation who would seem like a natural ally of the Democrats' on this issue won't likely be on their side. 

 

Although Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls, is the lead House sponsor of an update to the historic Voting Rights Act, he has criticized the Justice Department for intervening in such cases and has been supportive of voter ID laws in general. 

 

"I regret that the Department of Justice announced its intent to file a lawsuit against Texas' Voter ID law citing Section 2 to the Voting Rights Act," Sensenbrenner said earlier. "Voter ID laws are an essential element in protecting the integrity of our electoral process and do not have a discriminatory intent or effect." 

 

Section 2 is what Adelman cited in his April decision. Sensenbrenner said such DOJ moves hinder his efforts to update the VRA: "The lawsuit would make it much more difficult to pass a bipartisan fix to restore the heart of the VRA that the Supreme Court struck down ...." 

 

Sensenbrenner and Rep. John Conyers, Jr., D-Mich., introduced an update to the 1965 law after the Supreme Court last summer, in a 5-4 decision, effectively gutted the law's enforcement provision. 

 

The House has yet to consider the Sensenbrenner-Conyers bill. The Senate Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing about the legislation.