Wisconsin Elections Commission unveils National Voter Registration Day effort

The Wisconsin Elections Commission held a press conference Monday ahead of National Voter Registration Day, to discuss the measures they have in place to increase voter registration.

For some, the November election is already over. In Wisconsin, more than 75,000 ballots have already been issued because of early voting and absentee ballots, with more than 2,000 already returned and accounted for.

Michael Haas, the commission’s chief elections official, said at the press conference that the goal of the commission is “to assist Wisconsin voters in becoming registered and [ensure] they have the necessary documents to vote.”

The two main motivations of the WEC are to promote voter registration and inform voters of the voter ID law. To accomplish this, they have sent out 1.2 million official state postcards to people who have a valid ID, but are not registered to vote using the state Department of Motor Vehicles database. These postcards aim to let voters know that they either need to register or update their registration.

WEC Commissioner Mark Thomsen explained the process by which voters can obtain a voter ID. He states that all voters must do is “make one visit to the DMV and bring what documents you have to apply for a photo ID for voting purposes.” He added that the DMV will overnight-deliver the photo IDs the weeks before and of the election. As of earlier this year, all voters are required to present a photo ID at the polls.

These initiatives are in response to legislation mandating the WEC join ERIC, the Electronic Registration Information Center. ERIC, founded in 2012, is an organization comprised of 26 member states that want to make sure that everyone who is able to register to vote, does. ERIC also aims to maintain the efficiency and integrity of registration to make election day run smoothly, according to WEC Commissioner Don Mills.