Among the plaintiffs in the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation case opposing Wisconsin’s new voter ID laws is Carl Ellis, 52. Carl is a U.S. Army veteran living in a homeless shelter in Milwaukee. His only photo ID is a veteran ID card, which is not accepted under the new state law.
“If I can serve my country, I should be able to vote for who runs it,” he said. “Veterans and others who do not have a certain type of photo ID should not be kept from voting. These laws are undemocratic and un-American.”
The ACLU of Wisconsin is fighting to preserve Wisconsinites’ right to vote. (Update on the law: Thanks to CSW member group the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Network, the law was found unconstitutional in a Wisconsin circuit court. As that lawsuit and one other work their way through the state appeals system, the ACLU’s lawsuit in Federal court is on hold. The ACLU’s motion for preliminary injunction has been filed and stands as a backstop in the event the State Supreme Court reinstates the law.)
