All Voting is Local, an independent organization, and partners held a panel Monday to discuss current legislation regarding voting rights in Wisconsin, including the proposed constitutional amendment which would enshrine requiring photo ID to vote into the state’s constitution.
Wisconsin, a state that already has some of the most strict voting laws in the country, will see a question on the ballot on April 1 asking if the amendment enshrining photo ID requirements into the state's constitution should pass.
The panel, made up of representatives from both parties and voting rights advocates, talked about how some see this amendment as protecting election integrity while others see it as discriminatory.
“I don’t think we should use constitutional amendments to legislate,” said Rep. Lee Snodgrass, D-Appleton.
Snodgrass expressed concern with enshrining something — like requiring photo ID — into the constitution that already has “existing barriers,” which have not been addressed yet. For example, she mentioned problems with lack of accessibility to photo ID’s, and worries about amending the constitution when many issues are still ongoing.
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is underfunded, with only 23% of DMV’s open Monday through Friday, according to Snodgrass.
Snodgrass suggested expanding open-hours for DMV locations and addressing public transportation, as 31% of Wisconsin residents are non-drivers. Many Wisconsinites also live in rural communities, limiting their access to public transportation or local DMVs.
Rep. Scott Krug, R-Rome, agreed that Wisconsin should lessen barriers by extending DMV hours. He also believes that a process should be put in place to ensure cost efficiency and that someone can obtain a photo ID if they don’t have documentation.
“What we’re really trying to gear towards is good public policy from the legislature instead of courts trying to dictate what is going to happen and how it's going to happen because they’re not equipped to do it the way they have been the last couple of years,” Krug said.
Krug said that instead of the “hyper-partisan” issues courts add, the Legislature should make the decision and continue discussions. Enshrining this into the constitution gives us the chance to “expand the options” for types of ID’s able to be used, as parties can focus on the policy.
The panel also noted disability rights and tribal ID’s. The biggest barrier disabled people face is transportation, especially in rural areas, making it hard to get to the DMV to obtain a license or go to the polls on Election Day. Most programs aiding disabled people rely on nonprofit or volunteers, according to Anna Anderson, voting rights coordinator for Disability Rights Wisconsin.
During the presidential election in November, 35% of calls the disability voter hotline received were about transportation, Anderson said. Additionally, she said that 11 DMVs in the state are not accessible to people with disabilities, adding another barrier.
There are 11 tribal nations in the state. Although a tribal ID is a valid voter ID, only one is shown to poll workers during training. Many people have shared stories of their tribal ID not being accepted at polling locations, Cronmiller said.
“We have had this law in the books since 2016, and yet there are still kinks in the system. We have transportation issues, we have DMV accessibility issues, we have tribal accessibility issues,” Cronmiller said. “I’m very uncertain that codifying this law in the constitution without having addressed over all these years those very important issues is going to result in more disenfranchisement, more suppression of voters who are eligible to vote in the state of Wisconsin.”
Monday processing bill
Wisconsin is one of six states that does not allow ballot processing until Election Day. This results in all early voting ballots or mail in ballots waiting until Election Day to begin being counted. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, clerks across the state have asked for more time to process early voting and absentee ballots.
“We create a purposeful workload on our poll workers,” said Debra Cornmiller, executive director of the League of Women Voters Wisconsin. “We’re vulnerable as an individual to misinformation about the integrity of our elections, when we don’t understand all of the protections built into our elections.”
Both Snodgrass and Krug support the bill, as delayed election results can fuel misinformation. The bill would take pressure off the clerks and make Wisconsin’s elections safer, they said.
“We need to get over the perception that the [polling] machine is not a safe place to store a ballot. It’s a lot safer inside that machine than it is sitting on a shelf in the clerk’s office,” Krug said.
Snodgrass agreed, adding that, “In Wisconsin we don’t have a voter fraud issue, we have a perception issue.”
“When you are waiting until 4, 5, 6 [a.m.], maybe even noon the next day to get election results, there is a perception that there has been a ‘dump’ of votes at the last minute. Well, it takes a long time to count this many votes,” she said.
Krug said the bill would allow them to “revolutionize” voting in Wisconsin and get rid of the “perception problem” of vote dumps.
Dr. Shauntay Nelson, co-director of All Voting is Local, mentioned additional protections for clerks, as she knows clerks who had to leave the state after the 2020 election due to threats. Nelson stressed the need for better education on the process of elections.
Early voting has begun in Wisconsin. Voters can find their polling place by visiting the MyVote Wisconsin website.
Clara Strecker is a copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She also covers state news.
