Madison - A Dane County judge will rule on whether to permanently block the state's new voter ID law on Monday, less than a week after a different judge blocked the law for the short term.
Dane County Judge Richard Niess said from the bench Friday he would rule Monday on whether the requirement to show photo identification at the polls violates the state constitution.
His announcement came three days after Dane County Judge David Flanagan issued a temporary injunction halting the photo ID requirement for the April 3 election.
On Friday, the state Department of Justice asked Flanagan to stay his injunction while it appeals the case.
Flanagan has come under fire because he signed a petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker, who approved the voter ID law and is named in the case he heard. Niess did not sign the recall petition, according to his office.
The ruling that will come out Monday is in a case brought by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin that argues the state constitution allows the Legislature to exclude felons and mentally incompetent people from voting, but not other classes of people. The new law creates a new category of people who cannot vote - those without photo ID - and thus violates the state constitution, the lawsuit argues.
Whether Wisconsin's photo ID law will stand is widely considered to be decided by a higher court. In addition to the two Dane County cases, there are two challenges to the law in federal court in Milwaukee.
Judge to decide Monday on whether to permanently block voter ID - JSOnline
Dane County Judge Richard Niess said from the bench Friday he would rule Monday on whether the requirement to show photo identification at the polls violates the state constitution.
His announcement came three days after Dane County Judge David Flanagan issued a temporary injunction halting the photo ID requirement for the April 3 election.
On Friday, the state Department of Justice asked Flanagan to stay his injunction while it appeals the case.
Flanagan has come under fire because he signed a petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker, who approved the voter ID law and is named in the case he heard. Niess did not sign the recall petition, according to his office.
The ruling that will come out Monday is in a case brought by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin that argues the state constitution allows the Legislature to exclude felons and mentally incompetent people from voting, but not other classes of people. The new law creates a new category of people who cannot vote - those without photo ID - and thus violates the state constitution, the lawsuit argues.
Whether Wisconsin's photo ID law will stand is widely considered to be decided by a higher court. In addition to the two Dane County cases, there are two challenges to the law in federal court in Milwaukee.
Judge to decide Monday on whether to permanently block voter ID - JSOnline