The City of Madison Clerk’s Office and the Associated Students of Madison held a mock election Tuesday in Memorial Union, where they examined potential problems that could arise from the new voting laws.
Following the passage of the new law requiring a photo ID to vote, current Wisconsin student IDs will not be an acceptable form of identification. The university plans to issue new Wiscards that comply with voter ID laws.
Officials said student ID cards were the second-most common form of identification presented by the nearly 100 students who voted in the mock election, with Wisconsin driver’s licenses being the most common.
“That basically tells us that it’s going to be a lot harder to get … students using their Wiscard to vote because there’s going to be so much more that you need to bring than just one card,” ASM Legislative Affairs Chair Hannah Somers said.
City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl said city officials also learned they will need to double the number of poll workers per polling place from five election officials to 10.
Madison will need the additional workers to meet a commitment the city made to ensure no one waits in line for more than 15 minutes to vote, Somers said.
“[Poll workers] are going to have to look at more information, so it’s generally going to take longer because … now they’re going to have to see two documents and your ID card,” she said, referring to proof of enrollment and proof of residency.
Witzel-Behl also said that students with proof of residency previously could vouch for a roommate who did not have a document in their name to use as proof of their address.
However, this option ended with the passing of voter ID laws.
Somers and Witzel-Behl said that while many people typically register on the same day as they vote, these new proof of residency laws will make the registration process more time-consuming, leading to a decrease in same-day registration.
