Wisconsin Voter ID Victory is a Double-edged Sword for Republicans
Yesterday was the climax of a seemingly endless spring election season that saw a very partisan non-partisan Wisconsin Supreme Court race and a slightly less partisan non-partisan State Superintendent race that saw overwhelming victories for liberals.
However, one thing the conservatives in Wisconsin (and Washington) could brag about was the landslide victory for a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution cementing a photo ID requirement for all elections.
For clarification, Wisconsin already has been enforcing this law for years. In fact, when I voted yesterday, I both had to hand the poll volunteer my driver's license and (as further confirmation of who I was) tell them my name and address. The amendment would only make it harder to overturn that law.
And for the record, I was among the minority that voted against it. I have yet to see any proof voter fraud is rampant to the point it justifies potentially denying someone their right to vote.
Ironically though, while Donald Trump and the Republican Party are considering this a victory, it could prove to be a bittersweet win.
Ever since the 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, voter fraud has been the go-to excuse for the GOP (usually without any proof) when they lose. In fact, even before the 2024 election, Trump was trying to plant those seeds in case he lost.
In Wisconsin, the GOP way of fighting that fraud was with the voter ID law. In succeeding with its passage, they have effectively ended their ability to use fraud as an excuse if/when they lose down the road.
If you eliminate the supposed cause of your failure and the outcome turns out to be the same, then was there really a problem to begin with? I think we're about to find out with midterms just around the corner.
