The Brothers Fitzgerald are at it again. This week, Assembly Speaker Jeff and Senate Majority Leader Scott called for a legislative inquiry into a ruling by the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, or GAB. Specifically, the brothers want to reevaluate GAB's recent ruling, which states that students may use modified university ID cards at the polls as part of the new Voter ID law.
When this law was initially being debated, The Daily Cardinal made it clear that we opposed the bill. Without totally revisiting the subject, we felt like it was a thinly veiled, partisan Republican attempt to intentionally disenfranchise students, the elderly and the poor; demographics that usually support Democratic candidates in elections. The Fitzgerald brothers, in contrast, claimed the law was necessary to combat voter fraud. Yet by all accounts voter fraud is a negligible issue in Wisconsin politics.
The GAB decided universities could attach a sticker to ID cards containing information that is not currently on the cards, but is required for voter eligibility under the voter ID bill. Although this is not the ideal policy, it is better than the alternative: That all students who wish to vote must have a Wisconsin driver's license. Despite the improvement, the Fitzgerald Brothers have summoned GAB to defend their ruling in front of the Legislature's Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules, claiming they must ensure clean and fair elections.
""Elections are supposed to be a true measure of the will of the people,"" Jeff Fitzgerald said in a statement.
Apparently the speaker doesn't believe college students are people. This new attack on students' rights makes it more obvious than ever that Jeff and Scott don't want students to be able to vote.
If the Fitzgeralds and Republican partisans on the legislative committee, like extremist Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, get their way, the sticker provision will likely be eradicated, adding another roadblock for students who wish to participate in democracy. Getting students to go to the polls is already hard enough—adding extra steps to the process will dissuade them even more.
Fortunately for students, the University of Wisconsin supports student voting and efforts to make it easier. Dean of Students Lori Berquam told this board she thinks the ID stickers would be an easy, low-cost solution that allows students to vote. We commend the university for supporting the possibility of ID card changes should the committee strike down the sticker policy.
ASM has also proposed mobile DMV offices be brought to the campus area so that it would be easier for students to obtain Wisconsin driver's licenses. Although this in itself might present more challenges, it is a step in the right direction.
We believe election policies should remove barriers for all citizens to lawfully vote, not erect barriers.
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