Wisconsites will be asked to approve an amendment to their state constitution requiring that photo identification be presented by voters attempting to vote.
A proposed amendment to the Wisconsin State Constitution requiring voters to present a photo ID card before casting a ballot is headed for a vote of the people on April 1.
The amendment cleared its last hurdle on Jan. 14 when the Republican-controlled state Assembly voted to place the proposal on the statewide election ballot.
Before the vote in the Assembly, Speaker Robin Vos (R-63rd District) told members he was looking forward to the measure passing with bi-partisan support because polls, he said, show that an overwhelming majority of the public agree with it.
Also appealing to Democrats for bipartisan support for the proposal, state Rep. Ron Tusler (R-3rd District) said, “You can be a Democrat without being a Madison liberal.”
The proposal passed in the Assembly without a Democrat vote.
The state Senate approved the measure last week on a party-line vote with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats opposing.
The practice of showing a valid Wisconsin driver’s license, or a free state-issued ID card, before casting a ballot in elections is currently the law of the land by state statute.
Republicans said that the current voter photo ID law has worked well and that it enhances voter security and helps prevent election fraud. Making it a part of the state constitution makes it harder for opponents to undo the popular law in the future, they said.Democrats have long opposed voter ID laws in general, saying they disenfranchise the elderly, poor, disabled, and minorities.
Speaking to the Assembly before the vote, state Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-19th District) said, “Many folks eligible to vote are dissuaded by our ID requirements.”
“Many no longer vote because we put too many obstacles in their way. There is no correlation between voter ID and voter fraud,” Clancy said.
State Rep. Mike Bare (D-80th District) told the Assembly that Republicans were acting to “disenfranchise people who disproportionately vote for Democrats.”
State Rep. Alex Joers (D-79th District) said the legislature should be dealing with access to health care, housing, and affordable childcare instead.
Long-time state Rep. Dan Knodl (R-24th District) said that over his tenure the nature of the legislative process has changed into “legislating by lawsuit.”
Knodl recalled that the original voter ID legislation passed in 2011 was tied up in the courts until 2016 by a Democrat-led opposition. The state Legislature has been “getting lawsuited out of relevance,” Knodl said.
The lead counsel for the Democrats in that legal battle was current Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford.
Crawford is on the April 1 ballot running to fill a vacant seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. The outcome will either preserve the Democrat-leaning 4–3 majority on the court or tip the balance in favor of the Republican-leaning justices.
State Rep. David Murphy (R-56th District) defended making voter photo ID a part of the state constitution because a liberal-dominated state Supreme Court “can find creative ways to overturn statutes as unconstitutional.”
State Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-61st District), demonstrated that if voter photo ID was designed to suppress voting, it is doing a terrible job because voter turnout in the 2024 general election was the highest in Wisconsin history.
State Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-1st District) said “Voter ID keeps both sides honest.”
To secure a place on this year’s spring election ballot, both houses of the state Legislature had to approve the measure in two consecutive legislative sessions. The outgoing Legislature approved it in 2024.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 36 states require voters to present some form of identification at the polls, while 14 states and the District of Columbia do not require any documentation of identity to vote.
As of April 2024, 21 states require photo identification to vote, while 15 states accept non-photo identification.