Wisconsin Supreme Court Set to Issue Voter ID Ruling, Other Major Rulings, Thursday Morning–Could Moot Federal Case

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Three bolts of legal lightning — affecting union bargaining, election law and same-sex couples — will finally come down Thursday morning in what promises to be a historic day for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Set for release are long-awaited opinions on whether Gov. Scott Walker’s labor law is constitutional, whether voters can be made to show photo IDs and whether the state can run a registry for same-sex partners. On the question of photo ID at the polls, the court is ruling on two consolidated lawsuits challenging the same law, meaning essentially four significant legal cases in all being decided Thursday.

The article says the voter id ruling won’t be so significant because a federal court has already held the law unconstitutional and a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.  But that federal court ruling, Frank  v. Walker, is a quite significant ruling on the meaning of the Voting Rights Act in vote denial cases. A state ruling striking down the id on state law grounds could moot the appeal in Frank v. Walker, meaning we will not get our first federal appellate ruling (this from the 7th Circuit) on the vote denial Section 2 issue.  and potentially even lead to an attempt to vacate the federal court opinion.  So tomorrow’s ruling, if it does strike down the law, could have some national implications.

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