The Department of Justice Files Motion in Court of Appeals to Stay Temporary Injunction in NAACP Voter ID Case

MADISON — Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced that this afternoon the Department of Justice has asked the Court of Appeals, District II, to stay the injunction against the State's voter ID law that entered on March 6, 2012, in Dane County Circuit Court, in Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP, et al. v. Walker, et al., Dane County Case No. 11 CV 5492.

“It is my hope that this matter is concluded expeditiously. Continued uncertainty surrounding the conduct of elections represents the potential for irreparable harm to electors and the franchise. An injunction is intended to avoid an irreparable harm. This stay request contends that because the state should prevail on appeal, the injunction is more likely to result in greater harms not contemplated in the injunction,” Attorney General Van Hollen said.

A copy of the State's Motion filed today is attached. In summary, today's Motion argues that a stay is appropriate because the State is likely to prevail on appeal. Further, the public interest favors a stay because the injunction issued by the circuit court has introduced last-minute confusion and inconsistency into the procedures for administering the upcoming election, including the procedures for absentee voting, which has already begun. The Motion also argues that the injunction should be stayed because it harms voters who, if they now choose not to seek a qualifying ID, could be left unable to vote in the event the injunction is overturned on appeal prior to the election.

The Department of Justice is counsel for the Governor and members of the Government Accountability Board in the court action.