A reformed version of the controversial state voter ID bill passed the state Assembly Thursday, through charges of disenfranchisement and minority vote suppression.
The bill follows a similar format as the previous version, which is currently held up in court, by requiring all voters to show a valid identification when casting ballots at a polling place. However, the new bill would exempt people who cannot provide identification because they cannot afford one, cannot obtain an ID for religious reasons or cannot provide the required documents to obtain one. It would also allow people to use veteran ID cards as official identification.
If voters use one of the exemptions, their ballots will automatically be treated as challenged, meaning their ballots will receive extra scrutiny if electoral numbers are questioned.
State Democrats proposed various amendments to the bill, each of which was eventually tabled. The amendments covered a range of voters Democrats saw as disenfranchised under the bill, such as the population of higher education students enrolled in universities and technical schools statewide. One amendment would have allowed students to use school-issued IDs as identification proof.
State Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, one of the bill’s authors, defended the bill on the floor Thursday, saying it would help to curb election fraud and “restore trust in statewide elections.”
Democrats opposing the bill say voter fraud is limited in scope across the state and allege the bill is a thinly veiled effort to keep minority and student voters, who often vote Democratic, from casting their votes in elections.
State Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, said the bill targets minority voters who are statistically less likely to be able to obtain identification but not to qualify for the exemptions.
“This bill is about as bad a bill as we’ve seen all session, and we’ve seen some bad bills this session,” Mason said. “It’s Jim Crow in the 21st century.”
Republicans, such as co-author state Rep. Michael Schraa, R-Oshkosh, countered by outlining all the other areas where IDs are required, such as checking out library books.
“Even adopting a pet requires a state ID,” Schraa said.
The bill will now move to the state Senate but is unlikely to become a law as Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said he would wait for the courts to hand down a decision on the constitutionality of the previous law.
