[EL] That out of state license

Wed May 10 13:52:04 PDT 2017

Putting aside the obvious - that a driver's license is a privilege, and
that voting is a fundamental right, it seems that the Wisconsin DOT adopted
the rule in 2006 (here
<https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/misc/chr/lrb_filed/cr_05_109_final_rule_filed_with_lrb>
) requiring that new residents obtain an updated driver's license within 60
days of moving in-state. Notably, the 2006 DOT Rule references four
adjacent states with comparable rules (Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois,
Iowa); however, importantly, Wisconsin stands alone in requiring strict
voter identification.

Mere preference or convenience does not lead certain populations to
disproportionately lack an in-state driver's license. Voting tools may be a
simple preference for some, but for others they are a necessity. See
McCrory, slip-op at 55 (4th Cir. 2016).

The AP article does a wonderful job in portraying the stories of good-faith
voters who slip through the cracks and are unable to cast a valid ballot
despite being able to prove their identity and in-state residence.

Yael Bromberg | Supervising Attorney, Clinical Teaching Fellow
GEORGETOWN LAW | INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC REPRESENTATION - CIVIL RIGHTS, &
VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE
600 New Jersey Avenue NW | Washington DC 20001
Office: (202) 662-9546
Twitter:  @YaelBromberg

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On Wed, May 10, 2017 at 1:21 PM, Thomas J. Cares <Tom at tomcares.com> wrote:

> In many/most states there are things which make it more difficult for poor
> people to retain their driving liberty. (Can't pay a fine or take off work
> to go to court, and the court will suspend your license and tack on huge
> penalties).
>
> We can say this is somewhat oppressive. But if you really want to be able
> to oppress or at least disregard the interests of some sect of people,
> the best way to start at is to make it harder for them to vote. Just
> because it's too abstract for individuals to value it more than things like
> their driving liberty, doesn't mean it's not one of the supremely important
> rights. It may only be second to speech (How would you know whom to vote
> for without free political discourse and spreading of information about
> candidates?)
>
> Tom Cares
>
> ...Of course, this is not a view that particularly belongs to me. In 1963,
> Wesberry v. Sanders, the US Supreme Court said (emphasis added):
>
> No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in
> the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we
> must live. *Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right
> to vote is undermined.* Our Constitution leaves no room for
> classification of people in a way that unnecessarily abridges this right.
> In urging the people to adopt the Constitution, Madison said in No. 57 of
> The Federalist:
>
> Who are to be the electors of the Federal Representatives? Not the rich
> more than the poor; not the learned more than the ignorant; not the haughty
> heirs of distinguished names more than the humble sons of obscure and
> unpropitious fortune. The electors are to be the great body of the people
> of the United States.
>
>
>
> On Thursday, May 11, 2017, Smith, Brad <BSmith at law.capital.edu> wrote:
>
>> I appreciate that difference, and it's one reason why I hestitated quite
>> a bit before sending the prior post. But it doesn't answer, for me at
>> least, the question.
>>
>> After all, if the purpose of driving is to drive, then there are no
>> substitutes when prohibited from driving. Lots of people really like
>> driving--in my younger days, people would often just "go for a drive."
>>
>> Would the effort required to get a Wisconsin driver's license really have
>> been a greater inconvenience to him than the inconvenience of having to use
>> public transit, walk, pay for taxis or Uber, asking others to drive, etc.?
>> No where is it suggested that Mr. Reynolds could not get a driver's license
>> simply by making the routine application required by law.
>>
>> Conversely, of course, there can be substitutes for voting--it depends on
>> what you think the purpose of voting is, and what you think it
>> accomplishes. If the purpose of voting (to a particular person) is to
>> see the people he wants in office elected, there may be much better ways to
>> do that than voting (basically, spending time and resources convincing
>> others to vote). The fact that voting requires some inconvenience doesn't
>> mean it is denied. Can it really be true that for at least 10+ months prior
>> to election day Mr. Reynolds was so busy he could NEVER go to the DMV to
>> update his license, as required by state law for at least 8 months prior to
>> election day? Is there any level of inconvenience that is tolerable? I keep
>> wondering what the answer is to that question.
>>
>> I wonder, if you asked people, which they would choose:
>> a) you cannot legally drive for 9 months.
>> b) you cannot legally vote in the next election.
>>
>> I suspect most people would chose option b. Not saying I would agree,
>> just that I think they would.
>>
>> Again, I know this will all get caught up in the immediate politics of
>> the day, but my election law classes and I have long pondered over why
>> anyone bothers to vote at all. I do have my own answers to the question and
>> I vote myself. I think voting is an important power and duty. But I don't
>> think we give nearly enough serious thought to what voting means and how
>> and why it is important, and how and why it might differ (or not) from
>> other rights. I don't think saying "there are no substitutes" answers the
>> question, at least not completely, though it may be part of the answer.
>>
>> *Bradley A. Smith*
>>
>> *Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault*
>>
>> *   Professor of Law*
>>
>> *Capital University Law School*
>>
>> *303 E. Broad St.*
>>
>> *Columbus, OH 43215*
>>
>> *614.236.6317 <(614)%20236-6317>*
>>
>> *http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx
>> <http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx>*
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Jon Sherman [jsherman at fairelectionsnetwork.com]
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 10, 2017 10:55 AM
>> *To:* Smith, Brad
>> *Cc:* Rick Hasen; Election Law Listserv
>> *Subject:* Re: [EL] That out of state license
>>
>> Burdening voting and burdening driving are different of course. There are
>> usually alternatives to driving, such as public transportation, taxis,
>> walking, getting driven by a relative or friend, etc., all of which can get
>> you to a polling place or a campaign office or anywhere else. But there are
>> no alternatives to voting. Voting is voting - there are no substitutes.
>>
>> On Wed, May 10, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Smith, Brad <BSmith at law.capital.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Under Wisconsin law, after becoming a resident of the state in 2015,
>>> Reynolds had 60 days to get a Wisconsin driver's license. Wisc. Statutes
>>> Chp. 343, so it appears that by election day 2016, for 9 months or more Mr.
>>> Reynolds had been tooling around the Dairy State illegally, but fortunately
>>> was not caught.
>>>
>>> So, which is a worse--that until he goes to the DMV and turns in his
>>> Illinois license for a Wisconsin license, Mr. Reynolds can't vote, thus
>>> forfeiting an infintisimal chance of altering the election outcome, or that until
>>> he goes to the DMV and turns in his Illinois license for a Wisconsin
>>> license, he can't legally drive to his local party headquarters to
>>> engage in volunteer activity, where his activities might actually influence
>>> a dozen or more votes to support his favored candidate? (And can't legally
>>> drive himself to the polls to vote, to the airport to board a plane, to the
>>> bank to open a checking account, or to the drug store to buy cold medicine,
>>> the examples used in the article.)
>>>
>>> This is actually a serious question, to which I don't know the answer
>>> with certainty. I do know that governments generally have lots of rules
>>> that don't serve much purpose and that often infringe on ordinary
>>> liberties, whether constitutionally guaranteed or not, but support for such
>>> constraints seems widespread. I wish more people were more skeptical of
>>> government's asserted "interests" generally.
>>>
>>> And I thank Mr. Reynolds for his service to our country.
>>>
>>> *Bradley A. Smith*
>>>
>>> *Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault*
>>>
>>> *   Professor of Law*
>>>
>>> *Capital University Law School*
>>>
>>> *303 E. Broad St.*
>>>
>>> *Columbus, OH 43215*
>>>
>>> *614.236.6317 <(614)%20236-6317>*
>>>
>>> *http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx
>>> <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx&c=E,1,1pF9aa2fEKL0bZp0M1I445mtOtvppSfQSLKEBC8LBC5g9wEbn9SzWkqmOcqEbuZGcGUbIhrrsv720lKmx2df99w2_3vxC_IvznmOAZYF4AHtsxzkJA,,&typo=1>*
>>> ------------------------------
>>> *From:* law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [
>>> law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] on behalf of Rick Hasen [
>>> rhasen at law.uci.edu]
>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 10, 2017 12:23 AM
>>> *To:* Election Law Listserv
>>> *Subject:* [EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/10/17
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *“In Wisconsin, ID law proved insurmountable for many voters”
>>> <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http://electionlawblog.org/%3fp%3d92456&c=E,1,pq4V2ZcsBHa5fBxCb-MJvqnAQZZF7v2TYLmDCReds1r2pxFU5N7cbxcjqGZ1lNyz4UD4O64z2JFrCm7IN0hrVH3FdwwMkifll4lxc1_Db4vI&typo=1>*
>>>
>>> Posted on May 9, 2017 9:05 pm
>>> <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http://electionlawblog.org/%3fp%3d92456&c=E,1,xNEongnvVNHg513szCSihi3ed2r9eDGEesRQscfwctPpZTjQwPy8mKLKMnSipi4JYLs3qajpkFLIRsJrlCgh-K6fDeaTW5ADSBQZsi2vq3dSGJxD1ls,&typo=1>
>>>  by *Rick Hasen*
>>> <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http://electionlawblog.org/%3fauthor%3d3&c=E,1,VGx8gEWwanShCDDLAkczi9sgZ0A9RcqDazSYNzM0dT26FGYh-pnmbT_2JI1lVO6MWqScwMIjEniq_qWfL7QX8lq9UjaMOMZ3IbbsdwPugaueAr_3cPMJ&typo=1>
>>>
>>> AP:
>>> <http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/In-Wisconsin-ID-law-proved-insurmountable-for-11132489.php>
>>>
>>> *When Sean Reynolds
>>> <http://www.seattlepi.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=gsa&query=%22Sean+Reynolds%22> went
>>> to his polling place at a local ice skating rink on Election Day, he showed
>>> his valid driver’s license. The problem? It wasn’t issued in Wisconsin.*
>>>
>>> *Reynolds, 30, was taken aback. He had moved to Madison in 2015 to find
>>> work after leaving the Navy and receiving his associate’s degree from a
>>> university in neighboring Illinois. After successfully registering to vote
>>> in Wisconsin using an online website, he thought all he needed to show at
>>> the polls was a current photo ID. After all, his Illinois ID was good
>>> enough to board a plane, open a checking account and purchase cold
>>> medicine.*
>>>
>>> *“Coming home and being denied the right to vote because I didn’t have a
>>> specific driver’s license is very frustrating,” said Reynolds, who served
>>> in both Iraq and Afghanistan providing support for special forces. “I was a
>>> little incredulous that they wouldn’t accept another state’s driver’s
>>> license. I didn’t understand why it was not a valid form of ID.”*
>>>
>>> Reynolds said he had been working 50-hour weeks, receiving hourly pay,
>>> and could not afford to take time off from his job in security management
>>> to visit a local DMV and transfer his license from Illinois….
>>>
>>> [image: hare]
>>> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D92456&title=%E2%80%9CIn%20Wisconsin%2C%20ID%20law%20proved%20insurmountable%20for%20many%20voters%E2%80%9D>
>>>
>>> Posted in election administration
>>> <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http://electionlawblog.org/%3fcat%3d18&c=E,1,fejluzo-pR4EIa_TOPKeQ4_06hvcXSTX_t3S16goOJud8YtAQ4n601S-bdf4SZtk1xDYjiM0iBjk0rvKAackBedN9RjMk1mXVxM6RQDczr5DKCbgqI-4n28,&typo=1>
>>> , The Voting Wars
>>> <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http://electionlawblog.org/%3fcat%3d60&c=E,1,ZniLMrBOXQQTezTs6sNxeN-AQNljteSB_Ozw-fnfZl10Q9DS6fhX6OkooeT_qeAAqAEDNYqG9KC1ggw44He0QOAcmS5VzjTSpkpgwQ,,&typo=1>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Jon Sherman
>> Senior Counsel
>> Fair Elections Legal Network
>> <https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http://www.fairelectionsnetwork.com/&c=E,1,nExbWwAFR3fPCnecYJ-ZdJD6PB8EY-hwgiU4JqLdYE8vQSOoltYQvL4jifNxkF8WnSZgrNdLNDzt2TWVfc2bte8OiDBx0vHP79RRaOrilK3hqnME4kkKYu2K&typo=1>
>> *
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