Despite public popularity and legal stamp of approval from the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other advocacy groups continue to sue states over legitimate voter ID laws.  The Voting Rights Act already allows groups to sue if they believe the law violates civil rights. For example, the Advancement Project is suing Wisconsin over its photo ID law under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.  

Congressman Sensenbrenner is working against his own state’s voter ID bill.  The lawsuits are apparently not enough for him.  Sensenbrenner wants to go one step further and adopt a new coverage formula under Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act to require states, including presumably Wisconsin, to submit every election or voting change to the federal government with the right of the DOJ to simply administratively object to the election law.    

Despite the Supreme Court weighing in and affirming photo ID, the DOJ has already made up its mind to oppose these photo ID laws at every turn.  Of course, Sensenbrenner knows this.  That is why he called Attorney General Holder to voice his displeasure over a Section 2 lawsuit against the voter ID bill in Texas.  The lawsuit revealed Holder’s true intent to the public.  Sensenbrenner knows that Holder, if given the opportunity and power, would promptly file a Section 5 objection to the Wisconsin photo ID law.  Yet he persists in giving Holder this additional power over Wisconsin.

It is remarkable that  Representative Sensenbrenner would want to give the federal government a veto over Wisconsin voting laws, including important issues such as photo ID, redistricting and the other proposed reforms recently offered by his fellow state Republicans.