A proposal to require Wisconsin voters to present a state-issued ID card at the polls before they vote is expected to be acted on by the state Assembly today.
Under the proposed bill, a voter would need a Wisconsin driver's license or a Wisconsin Department of Transportation ID card to vote in the state.
In order to avoid placing a poll tax on voters without driver's licenses, residents could ask the DOT to provide them with a free card. But residents who did not ask for the card for free would be charged $9, according to Greg Reiman, a legislative assistant to Rep. Scott Walker, R-Wauwatosa, a sponsor of the bill.
The DOT currently charges $9 for such cards.
State-issued ID cards should be required of voters in order to prevent voter fraud, Reiman said.
\That would provide the most confidence that the person who votes is who they say they are,"" he said.
Under the plan, students with out-of-state IDs would need to acquire DOT ID cards in order to vote.
But Walker said he would consider supporting amendments that would permit voters to present photo IDs from other states or other Wisconsin-issued IDs, such as a university ID, at polling places, Reiman said.
""I think Scott [Walker] would be willing to consider certain other things,"" Reiman said. ""I don't think he wants to open it up to a dozen different things.""
Assembly Minority Leader Spencer Black, D-Madison, said it would be ""disingenuous"" for a Republican sponsor of the bill to accept an amendment because the bill is already past the amendable stage.
""Their aim is to stop students from voting,"" Black said. ""They voted to make it nonamendable.""
Assistant Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Ladwig, R-Racine, said she thought students should be able to plan ahead to get ID cards before they vote.
""If you can't plan one day ahead or two hours ahead, that's pretty bad,"" Ladwig said. ""Put it on your calendar and know that you have to do it.""
Should the Assembly vote to approve the bill today, it will be sent to the Senate for consideration.
Mike Browne, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, said he has doubts about the constitutionality of the measure because it places different burdens on those who vote at the polls than it does on people who request absentee ballots by mail.
Far-away absentee voters would not be required to show a state-issued ID, raising a question of whether the law discriminates against in-person voters, Browne said.
""We should be encouraging more people to vote and participate in democracy,"" Browne said, ""not trying to find ways to restrict them from voting.\
