5-25-16 wisconsin voting laws trial

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The defense of Wisconsin voting laws being challenged in federal court as discriminatory begins with local clerks saying they haven’t encountered any serious problems with the changes.  Clerks from northern Milwaukee suburbs of Cedarburg and Port Washington both testified Tuesday in federal court in Madison. They were the first witnesses called by the state Department of Justice in defense of more than a dozen laws being challenged, including elements of the voter identification requirement.  But the clerks say they support new laws limiting voting hours and days for in-person absentee voting before an election. They say it makes their job easier and lessens confusion among voters.  Liberal groups challenging the law ended their case earlier Tuesday with testimony from a political historian who says the laws among to state-sponsored discrimination.