Ct. of Appeals acted on several challenges to recent Wisconsin changes in its election law regarding registration of voters and requirements for absentee voting. With respect to 2013 Wisc. Act 146, which restricted number of hours municipal clerks could offer in-person absentee voting, Dist. Ct. erred in finding that said restriction had improper impact on racial minorities, since said restrictions gave all voters equal opportunity to participate. Dist. Ct. did not err in invalidating Wisc. State section 6.34(3)(a)(7)(b), which required that college and university “dorm lists” include citizenship information, since 20 USC section 1232g precludes states from requiring educational agencies to include citizenship information on certified lists of students who reside in sponsored housing. Dist. Ct. improperly found that statute’s increase in durational requirement from 10 days to 28 days for voting purposes to be unconstitutional, since plaintiffs failed to show that instant 28-day window was more onerous than similar windows in other states. Also, Dist. Ct. did not err in rejecting plaintiffs’ claim that requirement that voters produce documentary proof of residence violated Constitution. Dist. Ct. erred, though, in: (1) finding as unconstitutional statute’s prohibition on election officials from sending absentee ballots via email or fax to certain voters; and (2) entering injunction that permitted voter to declare that reasonable efforts failed to yield acceptable voter I.D.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Election Law