Wisconsin’s photo ID requirement for voting will be elevated from state law to constitutional amendment.
By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. Wisconsin voters decided Tuesday to enshrine the state’s voter ID law in the state constitution.
The state was also electing its top education official, who will guide policies affecting K-12 schools during President Donald Trump’s second term, will be elected Tuesday in a race between the teachers union-backed incumbent and a Republican-supported critic.
Both contests had sharp partisan divisions, though they have drawn far less spending and national attention than the race for control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Polls closed at 8 p.m. CDT.
Here’s a look at the two contests:
Wisconsin’s photo ID requirement for voting will be elevated from state law to constitutional amendment under a proposal approved by voters.
The Republican-controlled Legislature placed the measure on the ballot and pitched it as a way to bolster election security and protect the law from being overturned in court.
Democratic opponents argued that photo ID requirements are often enforced unfairly, making voting more difficult for people of color, disabled people and poor people.
Wisconsin voters won’t notice any changes when they go to the polls. They will still have to present a valid photo ID just as they have under the state law, which was passed in 2011 and went into effect permanently in 2016 after a series of unsuccessful lawsuits.
Placing the photo ID requirement in the constitution makes it more difficult for a future Legislature controlled by Democrats to change the law. Any constitutional amendment must be approved in two consecutive legislative sessions and by a statewide popular vote.
Republican legislators celebrated the measure’s passage.
