I was able to attend Thursday’s voter photo identification law information session at South Milwaukee’s City Hall, and I was glad I did.
I learned quite a bit from the presentation from the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.
Of course, the most-publicized major impact of the law is probably its most controversial: Voters must show a photo ID in order to vote beginning this year. And all voters must sign a poll list before being issued a ballot.
Other mandates, however, were more of a surprise to me. Among them:
- The residency requirement — the time someone must live at their current address before voting — has changed from 10 days to 28 consecutive days.
- Voter registration is no longer a year-round option. Registration now “closes” for a short window — from 5 p.m. on the Friday before election day to the day of the day of the election — for each election. This allows for clerks’ offices to prepare their voter lists. Registration then reopens at the polls.
- Voters will no longer be able to select a straight-party ticket. Instead, each candidate must be selected individually.
- Absentee voting is also being changed. The window for in-person absentee voting is shrinking, as it now begins the third Monday before the election and ends at 5 p.m. on the Friday before election day. Photo ID must be provided. Ballots received by mail will be made available sooner.
In the end, I support the new law, which will clearly bring some major changes to how we vote in Wisconsin. The new requirements are reasonable and provide good safeguards to further protect the integrity of the vote.
But I also have this message: Be patient at the polls.
The ID and signature requirements will slow down the voting process, no question about it. Tests done by the GAB showed it took at least 20 seconds per voter to accomplish these tasks — and when you multiply that by hundreds, if not thousands, of voters that you’ll see during high-turnout elections like the upcoming presidential primary and gubernatorial recall and it’s significant.
South Milwaukee poll workers — who comprised most of the approximately 30 people in attendance on Thursday, as the meeting was presented by the city clerk’s office — do their best, but there is a learning curve for them, too, with the new voting rules. Please keep that in mind.
South Milwaukee Blog 
Ever since I heard of this law, I knew that it was a BS law. I’m all for integrity in voting, but this law only restricts people from what should be a free and open process. There have been very few, if any, actual cases of voter fraud. This law is a waste and a way to put barriers up for citizens to vote.
Geoff: I think there needs to be some sort of limit to “free and open.” Of course, I don’t favor erecting unnecessary or overly high barriers to voting, but requiring a photo ID and signature do not strike me as being that. You should have to prove you are who you say you are when you vote — I think it’s that simple. I have to show a photo ID for all types of less-important transactions every day … so why not voting?
Now, it must be said that there has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in any recent election, so one could argue that this new law is a solution without a problem. But sensible safeguards like this will help ensure that stays the case. Will it eradicate future voter fraud? Of course not. But these new requirements will make it that much harder for potential perpetrators to try — providing a level of deterrence without disenfranchisement.
I also hope to see issues with the new law addressed in short order, such as offering people free copies of documents necessary to register for voting. This law should not require a de facto “poll tax.”
Geoff.
Very few, if any, instances of fraud? A recent report found errors in over 30% of same day voter registrations. The only BS is that liberals have stalled this common-sense law for so many years. I’d like to know what barriers you’re referring to. Don’t believe for a minute that it “disenfranchises” any legal voter. A photo ID is required for everyday purchases such as beer/liquor, certain over-the-counter medicines and cashing checks so unless someone never leaves the house they have an ID.
Everytime I vote, I feel disenfranchised. Everyone I vote for is either subject to recall or court challenge or recounts. It is beyond ridiculous.
You say liberal like it’s a bad thing? Anyways, this law does put up barriers for the uninformed, the poor, and minorities. There are many people that don’t have valid IDs or licenses:
http://www.google.com/search?q=percentage+of+people+without+ID+in+Wisconsin&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en
There has to be a distinction between “errors” and “fraud.” I recall few instances of the latter, especially on a widespread basis. That said, the potential is always there, which is one reason why I support these new regulations. Plus, keep in mind that same-day voter registration is still allowed under the new law, which only closes the registration window in the days leading up to election day (not including it).
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