Wisconsin: Wisconsin Voter ID Law Faces Legal Challenge | Ashland Current

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Fund will challenge Wisconsin's new Voter ID law based on the state constitution. As a nonpartisan organization that encourages participation in government, the league is concerned about voter disenfranchisement and as a result is is working with Attorney Lester Pines of Cullen Weston Pines & Bach to challenge the legislature's authority to enact the law.

“The League of Women Voters has been fighting for open and fair elections ever since its founding by the suffragists who won the right to vote for women in 1920. Our Wisconsin state constitution specifically protects the right to vote and limits what the legislature can do to exclude eligible citizens,” said Melanie G. Ramey, president of the Wisconsin League of Women Voters.

Wisconsin: Constitutionality Of Voter ID Law Questioned – League Of Women Voters Plans Lawsuit | WISC Madison

The recently enacted Voter ID law is coming under fire as one group questions whether it is constitutional.

Beginning next year, voters will have to show identification before voting. But the League of Women Voters wants to put an end to the law now. The group plans to file a lawsuit questioning whether the law is legal. The group says about 30 percent of Wisconsin voters don’t have a proper ID and can’t afford to get one.

Wisconsin: Photo ID law for voters to face lawsuit | JSOnline

In approving one of the strongest photo ID requirements in the country for voters, GOP lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker violated a few little-noted paragraphs of the state constitution - so say opponents of the law who are preparing a legal challenge to it.

But Republicans dismissed that claim, saying that in writing the legislation earlier this year they took care not to violate the federal or state constitution. They said the current objections over the state's charter show photo ID opponents are recognizing the difficulties of a federal lawsuit over the law.

A lawsuit being prepared by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin will allege that the law violates right to vote provisions of the state constitution not present in the U.S. Constitution. The group plans to file its lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court, its attorney Lester Pines said.

Wisconsin: Clearing up election confusion amid transition | Green Bay Press Gazette | greenbaypressgazette.com

Voters across the state involved with the recent recall elections experienced first-hand some of the changes to the election process that were "effective immediately" this summer pursuant to passage of the new voter photo ID bill. The special procedures of this new legislation brought about some confusion and frustration, so I'm hoping the following information will help to clear it up.

For all elections before 2012, electors who are voting must be asked to show a photo ID but are not required to provide one in order to vote before the 2012 February primary.

Wisconsin: Recalls let clerks test new Wisconsin voting rules | Green Bay Press Gazette

Sara Peeters waited at the First United Presbyterian Church in De Pere for an hour to register and vote in Tuesday's recall election. It didn't deter her from casting a ballot — "I came here for a reason," she said — but that doesn't mean it wasn't an inconvenience.

"It's not an efficient system," Peeters said. "I work in a pharmacy. No one would put up with that in a pharmacy."

Lines at several precincts in the region topped an hour in Tuesday's high-turnout races, a dry run for clerks and poll workers to test some of the new voting laws the Republican-led Legislature recently approved. Voters had to sign a poll book and were asked to show a form of identification, although the latter wasn't required.

Wisconsin: Democrats Remove Vote Tampering Allegations in Recall Election | Fox Point-Bayside, WI Patch

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has pulled a news release from its website that alleges vote tampering in Waukesha County by the county clerk. The party chairman, Mike Tate, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that they would not"not pursue questions of irregularities" that was referenced by the Democratic Party in "heat-of-the-moment statements."

Earlier: Perhaps one of the most controversial county clerks in Wisconsin, Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus is again under political scrutiny during the Alberta Darling recall election. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is claiming there is tampering going on in Waukesha County.

"The race to determine control of the Wisconsin Senate has fallen in the hands of the Waukesha County clerk, who has already distinguished herself as incompetent, if not worse,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate in a prepared news release. “She is once more tampering with the results of a consequential election and in the next hours we will determine our next course of action. For now, Wisconsin should know that a dark cloud hangs over these important results."

Wisconsin: Ballot machine malfunction delays voters in Fond du Lac | JSOnline

A ballot machine malfunction in Fond du Lac delayed voters for a short time early this afternoon, in one of the six recall elections drawing strong turnout of electors in Wisconsin.

Ballots cast during the temporary shutdown in Fond du Lac were placed in an auxiliary bin, then scanned through a new machine when it was delivered about 12:30 p.m., said City Clerk Sue Strands. No voters were turned away, although some may have left instead of waiting in line, she said. All of the ballots were counted.

Wisconsin: Recalls: Slow Returns in Waukesha County Upset Democrats | WUWM

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has issued a statement critical of Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus for the length of time it has taken to produce election results from Tuesday's recall. The race between incumbent Republican Senator Alberta Darling and Democratic Representative Sandy Pasch is the only one not yet called.

Nickolaus came under fire earlier this year, when she was late in reporting thousands of votes in the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court and bags of ballots were not secured.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin’s Katherine Harris | Politico.com

It's down to one race for control of the state Senate in Wisconsin and Democrats are accusing a GOP county clerk of holding up the ballot count. GOP incumbent Alberta Darling is leading Democratic Rep. Sandy Pasch 52 percent to 48 percent with nearly 80 percent reporting.

But before 10 of 11 precincts had reported in Senate District 8's Waukesha County, Democrats began taking aim at clerk Kathy Nickolaus. Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate took the stage at the Majestic Theater to accuse her of "sitting on ballots."

"We hope the Waukesha County clerk's office is doing the right thing tonight . . . But it is a little curious isn't it. Here we are on the cusp of victory . . . and Kathy Nickolaus is sitting on our ballots," Tate told the crowd of Democrats to a ripple of boos.

Wisconsin: Clerks ready for heavy turnout for recall elections | The Oshkosh Northwestern

Clerks across the 18th and 14th Senate districts have been gearing up for a heavy turnout in the recall elections pitting two incumbent Republican senators against their Democrat challengers.

The stage for the final recall election has been set for today in which 18th District state Sen. Randy Hopper, R-Empire, will square off against Democrat candidate Jessica King of Oshkosh while 14th District state Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, will face challenger state Rep. Fred Clark, D-Baraboo. Hopper and Olsen are among six Republican senators facing recall in today’s election. Two more Democrats face recall elections on Aug. 16.

Wisconsin: Absentee balloting big in Wisconsin recall election | TMJ4

Early voters are already casting ballots. Some cities are seeing big turnouts in the Senate showdown between Republican Alberta Darling and Democrat Sandy Pasch. "We were shocked at the turnout," said Whitefish Bay Clerk Jennifer Amerell.

That's because the absentee ballots are piling up in Whitefish Bay. Hundreds of voters have already made up their minds and wanted to vote early. "We actually had to call in two poll workers to come in and help because it was so busy," said Amerell. Friday was the last day to vote absentee in person in the 8th State Senate district .

Wisconsin: State puts brakes on plan to close DMV sites | JSOnline

Two weeks after announcing it would potentially close 16 Division of Motor Vehicles centers, the state reversed course Thursday and said it will maintain all of its licensing centers and will open four new locations.

The Legislature required the DMV this year to develop the most cost-effective program possible to implement a new law requiring people to show photo ID to vote and to ensure that voters will be able to obtain the state-issued photo IDs. The IDs will be required for voting starting in the spring.

Under an original proposal released July 22, the division said it may close 16 locations and open nine new ones, for a net loss of seven centers. The plan called for expanding hours at others. DMV Operations Manager Patrick Fernan said pressure from state lawmakers and citizens to keep the DMV accessible led to the decision not to close any branches. "It became clear that there was a strong desire to maintain service in all current locations," Fernan said.

Wisconsin: Colleges Make Changes on Student IDs To Comply With New Law | WISC Madison

College campuses in Wisconsin are now trying to make changes to student IDs for students to be able to use them to vote.

A last-minute change to the law permitted student IDs to be used at the polls, but some schools will have to make big changes for them to comply with the law requirements. According to the Voter ID law, student identification can be used at the polls if they have a photo, a signature and expire in two years. Students at University of Wisconsin-Platteville migh see these changes this fall. Officials said that they've remade the identification cards.

Wisconsin: Jobs group files complaint, says opponents intimidating voters | JSOnline

A jobs group that has been under fire from Republicans filed a complaint Friday with election officials, saying Sen. Alberta Darling's campaign and others intimidated voters.

Wisconsin Jobs Now has been holding get-out-the-vote "block parties" and busing voters to Milwaukee City Hall for early voting in Darling's recall election. The state Republican Party and conservative group Media Trackers have filed complaints with the state Government Accountability Board because free food and drawings for prizes were offered at the events. State law bars providing anything of value for voting; Wisconsin Jobs Now argues it complied with the law.

On Friday, Wisconsin Jobs Now filed its own complaint with the accountability board, which oversees the state's election laws. It alleged Darling's campaign and the group We're Watching Wisconsin Elections photographed and recorded voters and the buses for extensive periods.

Wisconsin: Voter Suppression Complaint Filed Against Americans For Prosperity | Hudson, WI Patch

When Charles Shultz received an absentee ballot application form in the mail on Thursday, July 28, it didn't take long before he found something fishy with it. The mailer, sent by conservative advocacy group Americans For Prosperity (AFP) to his North Hudson home, included directions to mail the application to Madison instead of his village clerk.

"It seems to me like it was an effort by this organization to delay the process or make the process more complicated," Shultz said. "And, of course the date of when it should be returned was wrong." That set off red flags for Shultz.

Wisconsin: Interest Groups Mail Ballot Apps to Wrong Wisconsin Cities | wsaw.com

Several state recall votes are scheduled for the next couple weeks, but interest groups hoping to lock in votes now are sending out absentee applications to voters. Careless processing means some may never see a ballot. Only a voter's own city clerk can issue them an absentee ballot. The problem this summer is that parties and interest groups sending out the apps are sending some to the wrong cities.

"There's no indication on these applications, the ones that are not officially from the GAB, as to what municipality you belong to," said Amy Duley, clerk of the Town of Pine River near Merrill.

Duley is receiving absentee applications nearly every day. Some come on the official Wisconsin Government Accountability Board form, but others come on paperwork solicited by pro-life, pro-gun, and other interest groups. The problem is that the interest group processing centers are sending applications for cities like Merrill to Pine River.

Wisconsin: Political groups get recall election date wrong | The Oshkosh Northwestern

Some voters in the 18th Senate District are getting misleading information in the mail about the deadline for absentee voting in the recall election between Republican incumbent Sen. Randy Hopper and Democrat Jessica King.

Absentee voter applications sent by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity tell voters to return the mailing by Aug. 11, two days after Aug. 9 recall election. Oshkosh Deputy Clerk Angela Joeckel said ballots that arrive after Aug. 9 would not be counted in any way. She said Thursday, Aug. 4, is the last day the clerk's office can send an absentee ballot out by mail.

Mailings from AFP with incorrect election dates were also sent out in at least two of the other five districts in which recall electionswill be held on Tuesday, those represented by Sheila Harsdorf of River Falls and Rob Cowles of Allouez.

Wisconsin: Democrats cry foul over recall ballot mailing | Associated Press

The Wisconsin Democratic Party on Tuesday called for an investigation into whether a conservative group tried to suppress turnout in next week's recall elections targeting Republican state senators by telling voters that absentee ballots received a day after election day would be counted.

Meanwhile, elections regulators said the Democratic National Committee promised to stop calling voters in one of the Republicans' districts after it gave some of his constituents the wrong election date in automated calls last week.

… The Wisconsin Democratic Party filed a complaint Monday with the state Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections, alleging that absentee ballot applications mailed out by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group that has spent heavily to help the Republicans, were intended to suppress turnout. And on Tuesday, state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate sent a request for an investigation to U.S. Attorney James Santelle. His office declined to comment on the matter.

 

Wisconsin: Americans for Prosperity ballot applications have late return date | Politico.com

Americans for Prosperity is sending absentee ballots to Democrats in at least two Wisconsin state Senate recall districts with instructions to return the paperwork after the election date.

The fliers, obtained by POLITICO, ask solidly Democratic voters to return ballots for the Aug. 9 election to the city clerk "before Aug. 11." A Democrat on the ground in Wisconsin said the fliers were discovered to be hitting doors in District 2 and District 10 over the weekend.

"These are people who are our 1's in the voterfile who we already knew.  They ain't AFP members, that's for damn sure," the source said.

Wisconsin: Proposal would mean more communication from state about free voter IDs | Superior Telegram

The Department of Transportation (DOT) would be required to be more upfront that ID's required for voting are free, under a bill being circulated by a Democratic state lawmaker.

Normally, an ID would cost $28 dollars. But for those people who just need an ID for voting purposes, it's free under the new voter ID law. But Democratic Sen. Lena Taylor of Milwaukee says the law is still causing confusion for voters.

"You can do this, but you can't do that. You’ve got to jump through this hoop and not that hoop,” says Taylor. “I just want to make sure that the DOT is doing the piece that complements so that the concept of whether or not you need to have an ID and whether or not you need to pay for it, that there is no confusion."

Wisconsin: Robocalls arouse suspicion with bad election date | LaCrosse Tribune

A round of automated phone calls urging residents of the 32nd Senate District to vote one week after the upcoming recall election has voters from both parties crying foul. Several voters reported receiving calls Saturday asking about their preference and likelihood to vote in the recall election pitting Republican Sen.
Dan Kapanke against Democratic Rep. Jennifer Shilling, both of La Crosse.

The recorded calls, recipients said, urged them to vote Aug. 16. Only one problem: The 32nd District votes on Aug. 9.

Government Account -ability Board spokesman Reid Magney said the Democratic National Committee called election officials Friday saying they initiated the calls but stopped them Saturday once the incorrect date was discovered. The DNC did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
There are two recall elections set for Aug. 16 in other districts.

Voting Blogs: Bank Account Activity New Voting Requirement in Wisconsin? | Rock the Vote Blog

Did you know that your constitutional right to vote actually hinges on how often you swipe your debit card at Starbucks? No? Neither did a Wisconsin voter who went to the DMV to get his “free” voter ID card.

Since you will need to show a government-issued photo ID to vote in Wisconsin in 2012, the requirements for actually getting an ID at the DMV are pretty important. This video showcases the apparently new requirement that a bank account has to show a certain amount of “activity” to be used to prove your residency. I don’t remember seeing that in the Constitution.

Wisconsin: Walker administration working on plan to close offices where people can obtain driver’s licenses and Voter IDs | BusinessWeek

Gov. Scott Walker's administration is working on finalizing a plan to close as many as 10 offices where people can obtain driver's licenses in order to expand hours elsewhere and come into compliance with new requirements that voters show photo IDs at the polls.

One Democratic lawmaker said Friday it appeared the decisions were based on politics, with the department targeting offices for closure in Democratic areas and expanding hours for those in Republican districts.

A high-ranking DOT official rejected that claim, saying the changes were based on economics, not politics. Rep. Andy Jorgensen, D-Fort Atkinson, called on the state Department of Transportation to reconsider its plants to close the Fort Atkinson DMV center. The department plans to expand by four hours a week the hours of a center about 30 minutes away in Watertown.

Wisconsin: The Next Step in Wisconsin’s Disenfranchisement Agenda | Campus Progress

If there has been any doubt regarding the intent behind this year's upsurge in voter ID legislation, Governor Scott Walker's latest move leaves little room to question the conservative disenfranchisement agenda, at least in the state of Wisconsin. In what seems like a blatant attempt to lessen the accessibility of photo identification, Governor Walker's administration has announced the closure of sixteen DMV centers throughout the state - for "economic" purposes.

"What the heck is going on here? Is politics at play here?" asked Rep. Andy Jorgenson (D-Fort Atkinson). The Department of Transportation plans to close the DMV center in Jorgenson's county of Fort Atkinson, with the next nearest station more than thirty minutes away by car.

An official from the Department of Transportation, however, insists that there is no correlation between the state’s recent passage of legislation requiring photo ID to vote and the planned closing of sixteen centers that provide the required identification.

South Carolina: Voter ID at the DMV in Wisconsin (and what it could mean in South Carolina) | Examiner.com

A brave Wisconsin woman videotaped the ordeal of getting her son a Voter ID, which is now a minimum requirement for non-drivers in the state to participate in elections.

She and her son succeeded, but only after a long process that included need to show banking statements (which at first were rejected because they didn't show enough activity). And after finally completing the endeavor, they were told to pay $28 (a poll tax?) even though the Voter ID's are supposed to be completely free.

Wisconsin: Absentee vote costs adding up quickly | LaCrosse Tribune

Area municipal clerks are seeing a jump in requests for mailed absentee ballots, thanks to efforts by special interest groups to make sure people don’t miss out on the Aug. 9 Senate election.

In that rare recall election, Republican Sen. Dan Kapanke will face Democratic challenger Jennifer Shilling, a five-term state Assembly member who last week won a primary over Republican James Smith, who ran as a Democrat to give Kapanke more time to campaign.

“We’ve got so many people going door to door, and they’re kind of strong-arming people into applying for an absentee ballot,” said West Salem Village Administrator/Clerk Teresa Schnitzler.

Voting Blogs: Wisconsin Clerk: Anger and Lines Greet ID Soft Launch | Rock the Vote Blog

Wisconsin’s recall elections are serving as a “soft implementation” of the new voter ID law, and poll workers and clerks are already expressing concerns about the new process. Even with modest turnout, voters experienced long waits and confusion, alarming clerks for future elections.

The concerns of elections officials and poll workers – including voice fears about long lines stretching from two to three hours, frustrated voters leaving before casting a ballot, anger revolving around poll book signatures and IDs, and drastically understaffed polls – were captured in a letter from the Madison City Clerk, Maribeth Witzel-Behl.

Wisconsin: Nickolaus says she does not plan to show all election-breakdown results | JSOnline

When Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus said in May that she intended to start providing unofficial election night results broken down by municipality - something that might have flagged the kind of snafu that earned her notoriety after the Supreme Court election this spring - she did not mean all municipal results.

Nickolaus told the County Board's Executive Committee on Monday that she'll change her reporting practices based on advice from the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

When pressed in committee by Supervisor David Swan as to whether she'd return to past practice of showing results for municipalities, even if the state elections officials don't suggest it, she said, "Not at this point."

Editorials: Wisconsin voter ID law: Hurdles for voters, little to curb voter fraud & $7 million tab | Madison Independent

Governor Walker recently signed a bill that requires voters to show IDs at the polls. The new bill will cost Wisconsin taxpayers nearly $7 million in new spending and lost revenue, according to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Many claim that the measure will do little to prevent voter fraud and will disenfranchise thousands of minority, elderly and rural voters.

According to PolitiFact, Wisconsin’s law is one of the most restrictive, based on research on acceptable IDs and voting procedures for those without IDs from state election offices, and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Under the new law, citizens would be allowed to vote only after showing a photo ID such as a Wisconsin driver's license, state-issued ID card, certain very limited student IDs, military IDs, passports, naturalization certificates or IDs issued by a tribe based in Wisconsin. The new law will be partially implemented in the upcoming recall elections this year, with full implementation beginning with the presidential election in 2012.