Wisconsin’s new voter ID law caused few problems for most voters, though it had “significant impact” in student-heavy areas, according to a new report. The report from the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin also found confusion among poll workers and voters about acceptable documents for same-day voter registration. “The new laws at least cause confusion, and at worst are misapplied by election officials and prevent eligible citizens from voting,” the report states. It recommends additional voter education, more poll workers to handle slow downs caused by the voter ID law and better training of elected officials.
The study was based on observations from 103 volunteers at 202 polling sites across Wisconsin during the April 5 election.
At a quarter of those sites there were problems with poll workers not properly understanding which registration and photo ID documents were acceptable.
The report cited specific examples where otherwise eligible voters were unable to produce the required photo ID to vote, including a young man living in Eau Claire with a Minnesota driver’s license and a disabled veteran in DeForest whose driver’s license had expired shortly before the cutoff date 18 months earlier. Both could have cast provisional ballots and obtained a valid ID by the next Friday, but said they would be unable to do so.
Full Article: Report: Voter ID caused some problems, mostly in student areas, on election day | Politics and Elections | host.madison.com.