A few days ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision to override the federal district court’s decision to allow implementation of the voter ID law, enacted by the Wisconsin Legislature and the governor.
The Supreme Court did not strike down the Wisconsin voter ID law, but postponed exercising enforcement for at least 90 days. The Supreme Court wanted more time to study the situation and felt implementation so close to an election would cause problems and prevent many voters from voting.
The nagging question still remains as to why the panel of judges waited so long before handing down a decision.
They must have known that it would create chaos throughout the state of Wisconsin. Is it possible that the federal district court may have been influenced by political pressure? Now we all know that courts are not influenced by politics and that those charged with upholding the law are supposed to be neutral.
So why is our own Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who is charged with upholding the law, suggesting that he might approach the Supreme Court to change their decision before Nov. 4? We need to encourage all eligible voters to caste vote for their choice of candidate. No effort should ever be made to make voting more difficult for some citizens. Photo ID is a good plan, but it takes time to implement and we will have the time now to make sure everyone is properly prepared to cast their ballot in 2016.
Stephen Laedtke
Waupaca