MADISON, Wis., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The League of Women Voters has challenged Wisconsin's new voter identification law, charging it violates the state constitution.
A complaint filed Thursday in Madison, the state capital, argues the law creates a new class of citizens who cannot vote -- those without valid identification, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Lester Pines, a lawyer involved in the litigation said the constitution specifically allows the Legislature to exclude only convicted felons and people who have been judged incompetent.
New Republican majorities in state legislatures across the country have passed identification requirements for voting, saying they are needed to prevent voter fraud. Critics say the laws are attacking a non-existent problem and are aimed at keeping poor and minority citizens out of the voting booth.
The Wisconsin suit is the first to challenge an ID law in state court under the state constitution.
Gov. Scott Walker, named as a defendant, described the law as "common sense."
"We require it to get a library card, cold medicine and public assistance," Walker said.
