“Appeals court yet to rule on Wisconsin voter ID and other election laws after 16 months”

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

More than a year after hearing arguments, a federal appeals court has yet to rule on a host of Wisconsin voting laws, including aspects of the state’s voter ID statute.

The long delay has left some scratching their heads and raised questions about whether the court will act before this year’s elections, including the fast-approaching Aug. 14 primary.

“It is rare but not unprecedented for a case to take this long,” said Joshua Douglas, a University of Kentucky College of Law professor. “I do think it’s very weird and I’m very surprised it has taken this long.”

What’s at issue has only grown more complicated. In one recent development, the state sued a voting rights group to try to prevent it from contacting voters who have had difficulty getting free state IDs….

Typically, courts don’t like to change voting rules close to an election, but Douglas, Stephanopoulos and Rick Hasen, an election law professor at the University of California, Irvine, said they believed there was still time for the appeals court to act this election cycle.

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