Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill on Feb. 6 that would make it easier for out-of-state college students to register to vote in Wisconsin elections.
Current law mandates that college-issued voter identification must show the date it was issued, a student signature and must only be valid for two years. While five other University of Wisconsin System schools currently have voter-compliant student ID cards, Wiscards do not meet these expectations and are invalid as a form of voter ID.
“The university would need to ask all students to get new cards every 2 years, many of whom do not need to use their Wiscard as a voter ID,” University of Wisconsin-Madison Spokesperson Greg Bump told Wisconsin Public Radio. “In addition, the Wiscard is quite expensive compared to the voter ID card, as it contains embedded technology to work as a debit card for purchases at dining halls and campus markets, as well as an access card to specific buildings for each student.”
Out-of-state students at the UW-Madison are currently able to obtain voter IDs through the university when registering to vote or at the polls. Students can print paper ID forms either at home, the Wiscard office or for free at the polls through BadgersVote. Plastic ID cards can also be obtained at the Wiscard office.
Sen. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, told The Daily Cardinal current laws make voting unappealing to college students, saying “confusing and inconsistent rules when it comes to which student IDs are acceptable create barriers.”
Hesselbein said these regulations hurt students who choose to obtain a university-issued voter ID at the polls, because they must also show proof of enrollment, and she believes these extra requirements are not always clear to voters.
All students who have lived in the state for 28 days prior to an election are eligible to vote in Wisconsin, and many out-of-state students choose to vote in Wisconsin because of its competitive, swing state status.
Under the legislation, students would also be able to vote with whatever their school-issued voter ID is, even if it is expired.
Sen. Dora Drake, D-Milwaukee, told the Cardinal access to voting in Madison should not be restricted solely based on being an out-of-state student.
“Students, regardless of their state of origin, should have easy access to voting while residing in Wisconsin. They are active members of our community and often contribute as taxpayers,” Drake said in a statement. “As a legislature, we have a responsibility to ensure that they can exercise their constitutional right to vote.”
Both lawmakers believe allowing students to use an unexpired ID without any additional requirements, or using an expired ID with proof of enrollment, improves accessibility.
The bill also requires the UW System and Wisconsin technical colleges to have the means of distributing approved student voter IDs by Aug. 1.
The bill has not yet gained the bipartisan support needed to advance through the legislature.
“I am disappointed this legislation has not gotten a public hearing from my Republican colleagues and will continue to work to advance it,” Hesselbein said.
