“Voter ID is a common-sense reform that protects the integrity of our elections,” Walker said. “People need to have confidence in our electoral process and to know their vote has been properly counted. We look forward to the same result from the federal court of appeals.”

Law’s history

The voter ID requirement was only in place for one low-turnout primary in spring 2012 before it was blocked by a state judge. As a result, Wisconsin voters were not required to show photo identification at the polls in the November 2012 presidential election.

The pair of cases before the Supreme Court were brought separately by Wisconsin’s League of Women Voters and the Milwaukee branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

The NAACP had argued in their case that the law was unconstitutional because it would severely burden a significant number of qualified voters and was not necessary to prevent fraud. In its case, the League of Women Voters said requiring voter ID was an additional “elector qualification” beyond what was required by the state constitution.

But Justice Patience Roggensack, who authored the opinions for the majority in both cases, disagreed.