Supreme Court OKs Texas Voter ID law (5-4)

[telemann.livejournal.com]

More information about the decision at the New York Times.

Comments

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

I am missing something. How come the Court denied Wisconsin, which had easier requirements to meet? I can only wonder if it's because they don't have as many minorities.

[madscience.livejournal.com]

They may have been influenced by Posner's dissent (http://bradblog.com/Docs/JudgePosnerDissent_PhotoID_WI_101014.pdf), in which he argues by contrast with Indiana that Wisconsin's requirements were actually not that easy to meet, and that unlike in Indiana, there was no evidence that the Wisconsin voter rolls were inflated with ineligible voters. He called the Indiana law a "balancing act" between possible disfranchisement and possible fraud, and since there is no evidence of fraud in Wisconsin like there was in Indiana, and disfranchised plaintiffs in Wisconsin where none could be found in Indiana, the scales tip against the Wisconsin law. Posner seems to be moving toward the position that voter ID laws per se are not an unconstitutional burden on voters, but their specific characteristics can and do make them that. At least I hope that is the position he is taking, and that SCOTUS will take.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

But with respect to Texas, I thought the argument is that our ID law is only more onerous than Wisconsin, nor does Texas have any worse a situation on voter fraud than these other states.

I think you are right about Posner's position, and that his opinion was based on evidence that the drafting and administration of the voter-ID law were indeed effected to discriminate against poor and minority voters. A straight and honest law would be fine, but such is not Texas's nor any of these recent laws.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Burning witches solves the witchcraft problem. Campaign finance reform is ignored while they attempt to solve a non-issue.