Not satisfied with attacking the collective bargaining rights of public employees, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Republican legislators have set their sights on voting rights with a so-called “Voter ID” bill that opponents call voter suppression.
The bill was passed by the state Assembly last week and the state Senate is expected to approve it today. Both chambers have a Republican majority. The legislation will make it much more difficult for many Wisconsinites to exercise their right to vote due to confusing and onerous obstacles, such as the most restrictive photo ID requirement in the country.
In addition, the bill’s estimated cost is some $7.5 million at the time when Republicans claim the state is in dire financial strait. Says state Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D) of La Crosse:
This bill will not prevent fraud or the recent election mismanagement errors that we have seen. As we continue to make drastic cuts to our schools, libraries, health programs and public safety services, the Voter Suppression Bill will force deeper cuts with no real benefit.
The Wisconsin League of Women Voters says the bill is an
expensive proposal that would create barriers to voting for thousands of citizens in an effort to “fix” a problem that does not exist.
Its backers claim the bill is designed to combat voter fraud. But as the Wausau Daily Herald writes in an editorial against the bill:
The case for a voter ID law would be different if there were reason to believe that widespread voter fraud were corrupting Wisconsin’s elections. There isn’t. There is no data to back up the notion that widespread vote fraud exists here.
There are large numbers of people who do not have the state issued photo I.D. the bill requires. According to a recent UW-Milwaukee study, those without state-issued photo ID who would need to obtain one to vote under the Voter ID Bill include:
• 23 percent of Wisconsinites over the age of 65.
• 17 percent of white men and women.
• 55 percent of African American males and 49percent of African American women.
• 46 percent of Hispanic men and 59percent of Hispanic women.
• 78 percent of African American males age 18-24 and 66 percent of African American women age 18-24.
The Interfaith Council of Greater Milwaukee says the photo ID requirement
would be an unnecessary impediment to many low-income people along with elderly or disabled people who live in their own homes. And the restrictions it places on the use of college IDs for voting would unfairly disenfranchise many students.
Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt says the reason for this legislation is
political power and to suppress turnout among constituencies who may tend to vote Democratic—not to address a manufactured problem of voter fraud.
