As a reactionary measure following claims of fraudulent voting in the Milwaukee area Nov. 2, Rep. Jeff Stone, R-Greendale, will soon introduce an act requiring all voters to show a valid photo identification card at the polls, according to an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Journal Sentinel found 1,200 votes recorded from invalid addresses and more than 7,000 unaccounted for votes in an independent investigation. Now, both state and federal officials are auditing the Milwaukee area’s voting practices.
While Wisconsin has one of the easiest systems of voter registration – allowing both same-day registration and not requiring IDs – consequences such as voter fraud are not worth the simplicity. Anybody can say the name of a known registered voter and cast a ballot in another’s place.
| The Issue A state legislator is proposing making photo IDs mandatory at the polls on election day. |
Requiring voters to show identification will not dissuade people from the polls, since photo credentials are needed to do everyday activities such as writing checks and driving.
Additionally, incidents of fraud, such as the UW-Eau Claire student who claimed to have accidentally voted twice in last year’s primaries, could not occur.
Showing a mandatory form of photo identification at the polls would even speed up the process. Instead of people spelling their names for poll workers, they could simply hand the personnel their identification cards.
The fact that, in the past, Wisconsin has not been able to pass a bill requiring photo identification at the polls is nonsensical. The law would create more trust in the democratic process as a whole, which may even encourage voter turnout in the long run.
