Under a new law pushed by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, 84 year-old Ruthelle Frank of Brokaw, WI (pop. 107) has lost the right to vote. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Frank does not have a driver’s license, and lacks a birth certificate needed to get a state identification card. She does however have Social Security and Medicare cards, as well as a baptism certificate. Even if she were to pay $20 to get a birth certificate, her maiden name was misspelled by the attending physician at her home birth. To rectify this, she would need to petition the courts and pay a $200 fee.
Frank, an elected member of her Village Board since 1996, recently became a plaintiff in a lawsuit to block the new law, which is similar to proposals in other states.
Our generation, and those who came before us, fought and died for the right to vote. We cannot let politicians take this away. For the latest developments on voting rights, visit http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/projects/voting_rights.
Photo by Dan Young/Wausau Daily Herald of Ruthelle Frank
