State Republicans failed to override Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of the Voter ID bill Tuesday, but the legislation could be placed directly before Wisconsin voters.
The override attempt fell three votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority, with 61 of the 95 legislators casting votes in favor of overriding.
Since this leaves Republicans without a further legislative option, they immediately introduced a resolution that begins the process of amending the state's constitution to require voters to present state-issued identification at polling locations.
\It is now time to let the people of Wisconsin help protect the integrity of our election process,"" said Rep. Jeff Stone, R-Greenfield, the Voter ID bill's author.
Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser, D-Kenosha, blasted GOP attempts to introduce an amendment to the state's constitution without holding public hearings beforehand.
""Is this really how we want to go about changing Wisconsin's constitution?"" Kreuser asked. ""A group of legislators get their tempers up and the next thing we know there's a constitutional referendum.""
The resolution was ultimately referred to a committee. It must pass both the Assembly and the Senate in consecutive sessions before it can be put before Wisconsin voters on a referendum.
