Dozens of community members lined up to cast fake ballots for their favorite sports teams and tailgating food Tuesday as part of a mock election conducted by the Madison City Clerk. The trial run was to prepare for the full implementation in 2012 of the Republican-backed voter ID bill.
City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl said the city is making voter ID education a top priority throughout the rest of the year, with 74 educational presentations planned. The mock election was to prepare election officials as well as voters for what to expect on a future Election Day.
“We want to make sure voters aren’t surprised at the polling place next year when they show up to vote, and find out then that they need an ID, and then not have their vote count,” Witzel-Behl said. “In addition to that, we need to make sure we have our election officials trained and that we know what the best procedures are to use at the polling place.”
Six election scenarios were tested over the course of three hours, with a varying number of election officials assigned to each step of the voting process. The clerk’s office measured how long each voter stood in line, how long it took to check in by signing the poll book and how long it took to fill out a provisional ballot.
Full Article: Madison clerk conducts mock election, finds voter ID regulations slows process – Isthmus | The Daily Page.