The Democratic Party has long claimed to be the party of the people; a more caring, compassionate, understanding organization that truly listens to ordinary citizens and works to better their lives. It would be unconscionable, then, for the Democratic Party to unanimously reject something that 81 percent of ordinary citizens demand.
Unless, of course, that something is Voter ID.
The Wisconsin Assembly on Tuesday took the final step in getting a Voter ID amendment on the ballot this April, voting along party lines to advance the measure. A week earlier, the Senate did likewise.
Now voters will have their say on an issue that Pew Research polling reveals 81 percent of Americans—but zero percent of Wisconsin Democrats—support. This is precisely why it’s so badly needed. Given the chance, Democrats will repeal Wisconsin’s Voter ID law without a second thought. And they have that chance so long as liberals control the State Supreme Court.
Make no mistake, Voter ID laws have been repeatedly upheld in both federal and state courts, but respect for precedent is not a hallmark of this Court. The day after Janet Protasiewicz was sworn in, giving liberals the majority for the first time in more than a decade, left-wing groups challenged Wisconsin’s state legislative maps…just a year after both the Wisconsin and United States Supreme Courts upheld them.
Naturally, the liberal majority on Wisconsin’s Court made the most of their do-over and declared the maps unconstitutional on flimsy legal grounds.
Next, they will decide the constitutionality of Act 10, the landmark collective bargaining reform that was also repeatedly upheld in both the federal and state court systems (including the Wisconsin Supreme Court itself). Without question, the four liberal justices will again ignore their own Court’s precedent and instead rule in alignment with their own political preferences.
Nothing suggests that their treatment of the state’s Voter ID law would be any different. Should liberal Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford prevail in April’s election over conservative Brad Schimel and maintain their majority, it is almost certain that they will accept a new challenge to the law and overturn it.
Democrats in the Legislature know this, which is why every single one of them voted to stop the Voter ID amendment from going before voters. Ironic, isn’t it, that the party which professes to defend democracy at all costs was so desperate to keep voters from having their say? And telling, isn’t it, that the party which claims that voter fraud is not at all an issue in elections was so desperate to prevent the single best way to stop it from being enshrined in the Wisconsin Constitution?
There is not a single Democrat argument against requiring voters to show photo identification that withstands even the most basic level of scrutiny. Their insistence that it is somehow racist is both nonsensical and insulting. Suggesting that black and Latino voters are less able to obtain a state-issued ID card than white voters is itself bigoted in that it presupposes that such voters are somehow less capable of existing in a society that requires photo identification for everything.
Buying a house? Show a photo ID. Renting one? Show a photo ID. Buying a car? Leasing one? Renting one? Show a photo ID. Opening a bank account? Applying for a marriage license? Flying on an airplane? Buying alcohol? Photo ID, photo ID, photo ID, photo ID.
Even state and federal government agencies require photo ID to apply for social safety net programs such as welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, Social Security, and unemployment benefits.
Given all this, how is it unreasonable to require a photo ID to vote—especially when Democrats argue that any cuts to these programs are racist because they disproportionately impact black and Hispanic recipients? If those recipients needed to show a photo ID to obtain benefits from government, then it would stand to reason that they would also be able to show that same photo ID at the voting booth.
The truth, which even Democrats understand (but will never admit), is that there are no good arguments against Voter ID requirements, which is why more than 8 in 10 Americans support it.
Those who don’t, such as every single elected Democrat in Wisconsin state government, merely offer pretext to mask the real reason: They know that they are the beneficiaries of illegal votes and don’t want that to end. If Voter ID is not enshrined in the Wisconsin Constitution, their allies on the State Supreme Court will simply overturn it and once again make it easier for those illegal votes to come in.
That alone is reason enough to vote for the Voter ID amendment this April.
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