Wisconsin election laws struck down by federal judge

MADISON, Wis. – A federal judge in Wisconsin has declared multiple Republican-authored election laws unconstitutional in a sweeping ruling.

Two liberal groups filed a lawsuit in May challenging the laws, including a requirement that voters show photo identification. U.S. District Judge James Peterson issued a ruling Friday that upheld the voter ID law but struck down a number of GOP-written statutes and policies that restricted voting.

He ordered the state to quickly issue credentials valid for voting to anyone trying to obtain a free photo ID for voting. He struck down a restriction limiting municipalities to one location for in-person absentee voting, time limits on in-person absentee voting, an increase in residency requirements from 10 to 28 days, and a prohibition on using expired but otherwise qualifying student IDs to vote.