A provision in a Senate voter ID bill would forbid using student identification cards to vote. Elections experts say taking out that provision would make the law less expensive and less vulnerable to court challenge.
As the Senate bill stands now, college students who want to vote would have to use a driver's license or get a free Wisconsin photo ID. They could not use their university issued identification card to cast a ballot. Adris Cerny of the group 'We're Watching Wisconsin Elections' says if students are serious about voting, they can submit an absentee ballot where their parents live. Or they can go get a photo id. But Assembly Democrat Fred Kessler told Cerny during a legislative hearing that may create an obstacle for students with limited transportation.
If Wisconsin prevents the use of student ID's at the polls, it will have the most restrictive voting law in the country. UW-Madison political scientist David Canon says it will also be expensive. The estimated cost of providing free ID cards in Wisconsin is $2.7 million dollars. Canon says students IDs are secure; there's no need for duplication. He says "it would be wasting taxpayers money to have state providing free ID's when you already have a secure ID that's been provided by the state."
Supporters say a voter id bill will prevent fraud. The Assembly is working on its own version of a bill.
