Today, The Andrew Goodman Foundation filed an amended complaint and a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the state of Wisconsin from enforcing the most stringent student voter identification law in the country ahead of the 2020 general election.
Wisconsin joined the nation in ratifying the 26th Amendment in 1971, making it unconstitutional to deny or limit the right to vote on account of age for those eighteen and older. Unfortunately, that’s precisely what happened when the state passed the voter ID law in 2011, imposing the strictest limitations on the use of student ID for voting in the country.
Prior to the passage of this law in 2011, Wisconsin boasted one of the highest turnout rates for young people in the country. However, the last 2 election cycles have seen the state’s rank in student voter turnout plummet. Data from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University shows that in 2016, the first year the strict student voter ID law was in place, the state saw the second-largest decline in student voter turnout in the country. While nationwide student voter turnout rose to record levels in that election, some areas of Wisconsin reported declines in student voting of more than 11%. Similarly, on-campus student turnout in Wisconsin lagged 6.5 percentage points behind national trends in 2018.
This motion for a preliminary injunction is part of ongoing legal action taken by The Andrew Goodman Foundation against Wisconsin’s student voter ID restrictions. The Foundation filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on November 19, 2019, which seeks a declaration that the restrictions on the use of student IDs for voting are unconstitutional and seeks to enjoin the law.
A student ID is only accepted in Wisconsin if it contains the issuance date, an expiration date no more than two years after the issuance date, and the voter’s signature. Additionally, student voters who wish to use a student ID to vote must also prove current enrollment at the college or university issuing the ID. With no other forms of permissible voter ID subject to the same onerous requirements and no reports of student voter fraud, the goal of this law is clear—to make it more difficult for students to vote.
The Andrew Goodman Foundation’s mission is to make young people’s voices and votes a powerful force in democracy. A vital part of our work is ensuring that students’ access to the ballot is free of discrimination. That’s why we remain committed to stopping this law from repeating recent history in 2020 and suppressing the youth vote in Wisconsin.
You can read the amended complaint here and the motion for a preliminary injunction here.In solidarity,
Yael Bromberg
Chief Counsel for Voting Rights, The Andrew Goodman Foundation
Catalyzing Impact 