× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

A federal appeals court has sided with groups arguing that Wisconsinites who face “daunting obstacles” to meet the state’s voter ID requirement should be able to vote without an ID.

The ruling, issued Tuesday by a three-judge panel in the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, breathed life into a narrow legal challenge to Wisconsin’s voter ID law.

It likely means a federal judge will determine how to deal with voters unable to comply with the voter ID requirement, according to Larry Dupuis, legal director for the Wisconsin arm of the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Such voters include those who don’t have a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, to meet the requirement and can’t produce the documents, such as a birth certificate, to get a free ID from the state.

Dupuis said the ACLU doesn’t know how many people face such hardships, but the group estimates it is more than 1,500 in Milwaukee alone.

The plaintiffs’ argument “is potentially sound if even a single person eligible to vote is unable to get acceptable photo ID with reasonable effort,” according to the judges’ opinion, authored by Judge Frank Easterbrook.