A bill that would ban same day voter registration passed out of committee in the state Legislature recently, which if law would dramatically affect young voters.
Assembly Bill 158 would force residents to register to vote 14 days before an election. It passed out of the Assembly Committee on Elections and Constitutional Law 5-to-3 along party lines, with all Republicans voting for the bill and all Democrats voting against it.
State Rep. Frederick Kessler, D-Milwaukee, a member of the committee, said he was opposed to the bill because it would negatively affect poor people and students. Kessler said he questioned the authors motives since students often vote Democratic.
Bill supporters stated they were concerned about voter fraud and protecting the integrity of elections, according to Kessler, but he said he was skeptical.
State Rep. Louis Molepske, D-Stevens Point, also on the committee, said more than 20 percent of voters use same day registration. He also said same day voter registration has shown increased voter turnout in Wisconsin and since he represents a college town his constituents would be affected negatively by the bill.
Molepske said bill supporters could not offer a shred of evidence"" of pervasive voter fraud in the state.
Kyle Richmond, spokesperson for the Government Accountability Board that oversees elections in the state, said there have been no widespread problems with voter fraud in Wisconsin.
Richmond said many state are now considering same day registration as it typically increases voter participation and the current system has been working since the 1970s.
Kessler said it was likely that AB 158 would pass out of the Republican controlled Assembly this legislative session, but it was unlikely to be acted upon by the Democrat-controlled state Senate.
The lead author of AB 158, state Rep. Suzanne Jeskewitz, R-Menomonee Falls, was unavailable for comment as of presstime.
