In anticipation of the 2006 elections, state elections officials and Republican state legislators are making efforts to reform Wisconsin's voting system, including a possible push by Republican senators for a constitutional amendment requiring voters to produce photo identification at the polls.
The Republicans tried to pass similar legislation regarding photo identification during last year's legislative session, but it failed when Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed it. Gubernatorial spokesperson Ethnie Groves said should Republicans introduce similar legislation in 2005, Doyle will likely veto it again.
Wisconsin does not have a standard method for tracking registered voters, and many municipal clerks have to rely on handwritten notes, state Elections Board Executive Director Kevin Kennedy told The Capital Times. In addition, some state municipalities still rely on levered voting machines. Despite this, Director of Common Cause Wisconsin Jay Heck said voting fraud is not a distinct issue in Wisconsin, adding the state has a relatively clean state when it comes to elections procedures.
\It seems to us that the smarter thing to do would be to try to incorporate some sort of compromise in a larger package that would include trying to streamline the system of voting in the state so that we have uniformity,"" he said.
Heck called the Republicans' push for a constitutional amendment an ""exercise in futility"" because the state already knows Doyle will not allow it to pass.
Campaign finance poses a much larger problem for the state, Heck said, referencing Doyle's 2002 campaign that cost $20 million.
""The corruption is in the special interest money that inundates our system,"" he said.
Although Republicans have been adamant about pushing photo identification for voters, both Heck and Groves expressed hope that the new legislative leadership will be able to reach a compromise and pass a package of elections reforms in the next session.
A spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beliot, said Robson is confident she and Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, will be able to work together.
In order for these potential elections reforms to go into effect before candidates start raising money for the 2006 elections, the Legislature will have to introduce them early in the session.
""It's got to happen soon, and we're hopeful,"" Heck said.
