After many months of assault on voting rights in states around the country, it was nice to get good news this week with two important wins for voters in Wisconsin and Texas. Voters in these two states woke up today knowing that they will all be able to vote and have their votes counted in the upcoming elections.
Washington, DC (March 13, 2012) - “After many months of assault on voting rights in states around the country, the League of Women Voters (LWV) lauds two decisions on Monday that will protect all eligible voters in Wisconsin and Texas and ensure that they are able to vote and have their votes counted in the upcoming elections,” said Elisabeth MacNamara, President of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “These decisions are important statements about efforts that could impact eligible voters in many others states.”
Today, a Dane County Circuit Court Judge found the Wisconsin voter ID law unconstitutional. The case, brought by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, is a big win for all Wisconsin voters. “Voting is not like cashing a check or getting on an airplane. Those activities are not protected by the constitution. Voting is one way in which all citizens are equal, and that is worth fighting for," Melanie Ramey, state president. Read the full statement here.
A new article came out yesterday in Ms. Magazine and a few other publications, called Blocking the Vote. The piece, like other recent news stories, details what the League and other voting rights groups have been ringing the alarm bells on for several years - a new wave of voter suppression laws passing state legislatures at an alarming rate. League President MacNamara's quote sums it up nicely, "The fact that this is being touted as a way of making the [election] system more secure....is just a false argument."