No act is too brazen for the Republican majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. [Update: In a surprise,“the court’s newest conservative-backed member, Justice Brian Hagedorn,” shunning a party line vote, formed a majority with liberals to rule against mucking up the works.] Things didn’t turn out so well during the primary (apparently many Wisconsin voters resent the imposition of minority rule in the state). We’ll see if the latest attempt to throw a wrench into the works is a winning play by the Republicans.
Meanwhile, a federal appeals court considers whether North Carolina’s recent history of discriminatory voting restrictions, which were found to “target African Americans with almost surgical precision,” should be considered in evaluating whether another law — with the same target — should be invalidated (“Court examines North Carolina’s new law that requires photo IDs for voting”).
While in another appeals court, a 6-4 majority found that Florida’s 21st century version of the poll tax passes constitutional muster (“Florida can bar ex-felons from voting if they owe court payments, appeals court rules”).