Judge Blocks Wisconsin GOP's Early-Voting Restrictions

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo/The AP



By TODD RICHMOND
January 17, 2019 3:42 pm

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday struck down early-voting restrictions Wisconsin Republicans adopted in a December lame-duck legislative session, saying the limits are clearly similar to restrictions he blocked two years ago.

Republicans voted in December to limit early voting to no more than two weeks before an election. The move came after a difficult midterm election in November in which the overwhelmingly Democratic cities of Madison and Milwaukee held early voting for six weeks — far longer than in smaller and more conservative communities.

The GOP lost every statewide race, but retained majorities in the Legislature and quickly convened the lame-duck session to pass bills that Gov. Scott Walker — also defeated in the election — could sign before leaving office.

Walker and Republicans argued the time frame for voting early should be uniform across the state, not left up to each community to determine. Walker argued it was an issue of fairness, and that local communities could decide when within the two-week period to offer early voting.

Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/wisconsin-judge-strikes-early-voting-restrictions

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. I cant keep commenting on action after action of republicans PROVING they HATE democracy

and nothing changes.

[moose65]

2. This kind of shit makes me so MAD!!

It's kinda like when they say that Trump won more counties than Hillary, as if every county is uniform. The same is true of voting districts. If there are a lot of people in a huge city like Madison or Milwaukee, then the people who run the elections in those areas should be able to set their own early voting hours. It's crazy for some sleepy rural burg to have the same amount of early voting hours as a city!

[Johnyawl]

3. They're so damned stupid it's no wonder judges knock this stuff down

Walker and Republicans argued the time frame for voting early should be uniform across the state, not left up to each community to determine.

Walker argued it was an issue of fairness, and that local communities could decide when within the two-week period to offer early voting.

So basically, we want uniformity when we want it, but it's okay not to be uniform when we don't want it.


If I was a judge and had to listen to this kind of nonsense I'd have a box of rocks on my bench to throw at those morons.

[Honeycombe8]

4. Good! We know why the want the early voting time to be in the hands of the state.

Yeah, we do.

[DrToast]

5. Seems like a decent point, I'm afraid to say.

Walker and Republicans argued the time frame for voting early should be uniform across the state, not left up to each community to determine.

What’s the argument against this?

[Kensan]

6. Because Walker was talking out of both sides of his mouth...

After stating there should be uniformity across all communities, he completely flipped his own argument.

From the clips above..."Walker argued it was an issue of fairness, and that local communities could decide when within the two-week period to offer early voting".

You can't argue for uniformity, and then say local communities can decide for themselves how to implement early voting. All that has accomplished is to give local Republican officials the ability to say early voting can take place anywhere from 14 days to 0 days prior to the actual election date. Knowing Republicans, it will be closer to the zero side of things.

If uniformity is what Walker really desires, I'd say let's give it to him. The largest communities need the additional time to accommodate the larger voting population. I'm fine if Wisconsin just extends the 6-week early voting period across the entire state. No need to have local officials decide anything. Early voting starts exactly 6 weeks prior for everyone. See how easy that was?

[DrToast]

8. I follow now

Yeah, he would have a much more legit argument if uniformity was what he was really after.

[bluecollar2]

10. If I have a community of 3500 people

It's much easier to see that not a lot of people will need to be accommodated for early voting.

On the other hand, if the community has 350,000 people its reasonable to assume that more early voting time will be required.

[ffr]

7. Booyah!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

9. Legislators

should start being held financially responsible for legal challenges to laws they pass, knowing that they are the same laws that have ALREADY been blocked in the past.

[Scurrilous]

11. K&R