Madison landlords are now required to provide a voter registration form when tenants move in to their property after the Common Council passed a new ordinance Tuesday.
Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, who was the lead sponsor of the ordinance, said she sponsored the ordinance because of the voter ID law, passed by state Republicans last year. The law requires Wisconsin citizens to have photo identification to vote, but has been ruled unconstitutional by two Dane County judges and is unlikely to be in place for the upcoming fall elections.
Maniaci said the new ordinance will not only simplify the voting process, but also lessen the time and labor needed to process voter information during elections.
There were 19,000 same-day voter registrations in the June 5 recall election, according to Maniaci, and the city clerk’s office cannot efficiently process that many forms.
In addition to the great number of people registering on voting day, many students find they do not have the proper documents at the polls, which compromises their ability to vote, according to Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8.
While the University provides voter ID cards to out-of-state students and forms through students’ MyUW account to prove residency, students living off campus still need to provide an official statement to declare their Wisconsin residency.
Because of pre-registration made possible by forms provided by landlords, there will be shorter lines at the polls and indirect cost savings in the election process, according to Resnick.
Resnick also said the city council has received mixed support from landlords.
Those against the ordinance, such as the Realtor’s Association of South Central Wisconsin, said it is not the landlord’s responsibility to provide registration forms or to be involved in a political process like voting.
RASCW Governmental Affairs Director Phil Salkin said prior to the meeting his organization is opposed to the ordinance on the “principle” of the matter, and his stance has nothing to do with the importance of voter registration.
“The issue is whether the city should be able to require one segment of the business community to conduct efforts that are unrelated to what they do,” Salkin said.
Madison Property Management President Jim Stopple also opposed the ordinance.
“Please help us keep politics out of the property industry,” he said.
Some council members also raised concerns that landlords are being asked to go above and beyond their duties.
“We’re making babysitters out of landlords,” Ald. Joseph Clausius, District 17, said.
But Associated Students of Madison College of Letters and Sciences Representative David Gardner said providing voting forms and information is in fact a part of a landlord’s responsibilities to their tenants.
“The landlord is really responsible for that moving process and making it as simple for the student as possible, [which includes] making sure that the student is registered so they don’t have to deal with the mess on election day,” Gardner said.
