## Facts

- Wisconsin enacted 2011 Wis. Act 23, requiring most electors to present one of several specified photo identifications to vote in person (including in-person absentee voting).
- The law directed the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a free state identification card for voting to qualified applicants who requested it for that purpose.
- Obtaining a DOT photo ID typically required underlying documents (e.g., certified birth certificates) that could involve fees charged by other agencies, along with travel and administrative hurdles.
- DOT rules also provided a petition-based process permitting waiver of certain documentation requirements for voting IDs when an applicant could not reasonably obtain the underlying documents.
- The Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP, other organizations, and individual voters sued state officials in Dane County Circuit Court, asserting that Act 23 violated the Wisconsin Constitution’s suffrage protections.
- The circuit court held the photo-ID requirement unconstitutional and permanently enjoined enforcement; the Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted direct review.

## Issues

1. Whether Act 23’s photo-ID requirement, as a condition of voting, violates the Wisconsin Constitution’s right to vote.
2. Whether the time, travel, paperwork, and potential out-of-pocket costs associated with obtaining compliant identification impose an undue burden that substantially impairs the franchise.
3. Whether the State’s interests in election integrity, preventing fraud, and maintaining public confidence justify the challenged requirements.
4. What burden of proof applies to a facial constitutional challenge to an election statute under Wisconsin law.

## Decision

- The Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed the circuit court and vacated the injunction.
- The court held that Act 23 is presumed constitutional and that plaintiffs did not prove unconstitutionality beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Treating the case as a facial challenge, the court concluded the asserted burdens were not so severe as to deny or substantially impair the right to vote.
- The court relied on the availability of free voting IDs and a petition process that, as construed, prevented required government fees from being imposed as a condition of voting.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the court’s opinion, permitting enforcement of Act 23 as construed.

## Legal Principles

- A facial challenge to a statute carries a presumption of constitutionality; challengers must establish unconstitutionality beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Under the Wisconsin Constitution, the right to vote is fundamental but subject to reasonable, nondiscriminatory regulations that do not deny or substantially impair the franchise.
- The scrutiny applied to election regulations depends on the character and magnitude of the asserted injury, weighed against the State’s asserted interests.
- Protecting election integrity and fostering public confidence are legitimate governmental interests that can justify identification requirements.
- When a voting regulation is construed and administered to ensure compliant identification is available without required government fees, associated time and administrative burdens may be treated as ordinary election-related burdens rather than unconstitutional impairments.

## Conclusion

The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld Wisconsin’s voter photo-identification requirement against a facial state-constitutional challenge, concluding that, given a cost-free means to obtain compliant IDs and a petition process for those lacking documents, the challengers failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Act 23 imposed an undue burden on the right to vote.


Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP v. Walker, 851 N.W.2d 262 (Wis. 2014)