Last week, incredible efforts were made to restrain the use of particular identification cards across Wisconsin. Thursday, the Government Accountability Board overturned what was to be a new rule allowing the use of stickers on university IDs that would make them eligible in elections. The weekend following, Wandos Bar and Johnny O's Sports Lounge experimented with a new rule restricting acceptable forms of identification to drivers' licenses and passports in an effort to curb the use of fake IDs from underage students.
Through this, Madisonians combined forces in an attempt to collectively hunt down America's deadliest predators: The fraudulent voter and the underage drinker. In other words, limiting acceptable IDs proves to the average Joe that lawmakers are diligently working toward silencing the already quiet and, quite frankly, non-existent population of illegal voters, while spotlighting private business owners as Honest Abe's shunning Madison's devious 18-to 21-year-old crowd from a frisky night of illegal drinking.
If I know anything, it's that Dog the Bounty Hunter isn't a part of this crackdown for a reason, and a smart one at that. The futile nature of these restrictive policies along with the blatant disenfranchisement of students and members of the minority community undoubtedly supersedes any excuse to limit identification options among the Madison community.
Combating voter fraud and underage drinking through identification restrictions comes at a high price. It is a complete waste of paper space and time to have to remind politicians and bar-owners that the implications of these policies mirror indirect forms of racism and utter socio-economic discrimination.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, 55 percent of African American men in Wisconsin don't own a driver's license, which starkly contrasts with the mere 17 percent of white, Wisconsin men who are left walking to work—demonstrating a clear racial gap when it comes to who is accepted in local bars and given a clear form of identification to vote.
On top of this, it makes absolutely no sense to prohibit individuals without a driver's license into a bar where they have the option to gulp down as much vodka as they please. Isn't this something Madison police and bartenders should discourage? While I understand most of Wando's and Johnny O's costumers aren't driving home after their fourth fishbowl, why require consumers of Milwaukee's Best to be a valid Wisconsin driver? This weaning out process targets a specific community, and whether or not the provision reduces violence or the use of fake IDs, the Madison police should not be in support.
The same principles apply to the GAB's decision to remove stickered university IDs as a viable option for students to use at the polls. But in defense of the GAB's decision, Director Kevin Kennedy said in a Daily Cardinal article, ""While the idea of utilizing a sticker attached to a current student identification card originated with university and college representatives, we are now being informed that most would prefer developing a separate student identification card issued to a student upon request that conforms to the statutory requirements."" Still, revoking this significantly cheaper option is like saying that because customers would prefer the filet mignon over the cheaper sirloin, restaurants should just take the option off the menu. It makes no sense. The government can't cut UW System funding and expect schools to pay for their students increased accessibility to the polls. This ultimately silences a student population that should be encouraged to participate in the political process.
Both of these initiatives exclude a diverse set of citizens on trivial grounds. Voter fraud is practically non-existent in Wisconsin and underage drinking will never garner a concrete solution. If the city deems it important to overcome these mundane problems, then the solutions they advocate shouldn't flow over the rights of others. If it takes me stealing Gov. Scott Walker's drivers license so he can't prove his identity in his upcoming recall election, thus disallowing his ability to drink away his sorrows after he loses the race, I will.
Sam Witthuhn is a senior majoring in political science and journalism. Please send all feedback to dailycardinal.com/opinion.
