Strict Wisconsin photo ID requirement is being implemented for the first time as onlookers worry

From the Brennan Center:

Wisconsin voters head to the polls today for the first federal primary election with a strict photo ID requirement in place.

The Badger State is one of 17 with new voting restrictions in effect for the first time in a presidential election this year, according to an updated Brennan Center analysis, reflecting a recently passed law in Arizona.

Approximately 300,000 registered voters in Wisconsin, or 9 percent, do not have the required ID, including a disproportionate number of African Americans and Latinos, U.S. District Judge Court Lynn Adelman found in 2014.

The law has already blocked some voters from the polls. Ruthelle Frank is the lead plaintiff in one ongoing case challenging the law. The 89-year-old cannot get an ID because of a misspelling on her birth certificate, which costs $200 to change, reported The Nation’s Ari Berman. “No one should have to pay a fee to be able to vote,” she said.

Students may also find it harder to vote tomorrow. “The standard student ID at only three of the University of Wisconsin’s 13 four-year schools and at seven of the state’s 23 private colleges can be used as a voter photo ID,” according to Common Cause Wisconsin.

Though generally low-turnout affairs, the primaries may give an early glimpse at how new voting restrictions could affect voters in November’s general election.