NEWS
Audit Bureau urges voting changes
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by Carolyn Smith
Monday, September 19, 2005
The state Legislative Audit Bureau released a report Sept. 16 detailing voter registration practices in Wisconsin and made 11 recommendations on how to remedy specific problem areas.
The audit analyzed registration methods, the address verification process and the use of voter registration lists. In the report, the bureau found many irregularities in voter registration in many municipalities.
"They found that there's a lot of inconsistencies through the state — that we do not run our elections the same in all areas," State Rep. Suzanne Jeskewitz, R-Menomonee Falls, a co-chair of the Legislative Audit Committee that recommended the audit, said. "Part of the reason is because we don't have as many state laws as we need to dictate how it should be run."
According to state statues, municipalities with more than 5,000 constituents must require voters to register. There are 172 such areas, and 167 additional municipalities that locally mandate registration.
The LAB found 20.3 percent of Wisconsinites who voted in the 2004 elections registered at the polls on Election Day. Jeskewitz said allowing same-day registration increases the likelihood of voter fraud, adding Wisconsin is one of six states allowing same-day voter registration.
"I find that very disturbing that those people's votes were counted, but the verification of if they were legitimate voters could not be done until after the votes were counted," Jeskewitz said.
According to Jeskewitz, part of the reason for flaws in the registration process is because the clerks who oversee voter registration are not thoroughly trained.
"The clerks have taken it upon themselves to train through their association," Jeskewitz said. "But I think that is the job of the State Elections Board to do the training and not leave it up to the individual association."
In addition, in six municipalities analyzed, the bureau identified 105 instances where improper voting or fraud may have occurred, 89 of which may have involved felons.
The LAB also found that though the state requires address verification cards to be sent to all voters who register on Election Day or by mail, 46 percent of 150 municipalities did not send the cards.
"One of the things I had been particularly concerned about was the lack of proper follow though on same-day address verification cards for people who register at the poles," State Rep. Jeff Stone, R-Greendale, who requested the audit, said.
In the 2000 elections in Milwaukee County, Stone said, there were more than 4,000 people who registered and voted on the same day whose address verification cards were sent back to polling officials as undeliverable.
However, Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, said though the bureau found inconsistencies in the state's voting policies, the incidence of possible fraud was minimal compared to the overall number of voters in the state.
"In Wisconsin, we have one of the most open voting systems in the country," Heck said. "And in the 2004 elections we had the second-highest voter turnout in the country, which is partly due to allowing people to register on the same day they vote."
According to Heck, a bipartisan effort by state legislators is necessary to solve voting system problems. Heck also said the inception of the statewide voter list, slated to occur on Jan. 1, 2006, will ease election troubles.
"What I am hoping for is Republicans and Democrats can get together and say 'OK, let's make sure that the statewide voter list is done correctly, and that we steer some resources to train the clerks," Heck said. "I think if we can do that, it will solve the problem."
Jeskewitz said the LAB made several recommendations about what should be done to revamp the voter registration process, which the Legislative Audit Committee will review next month.
"Voting is a privilege for us, and a right," Jeskewitz said. "But we need to legitimize as much as we can and if we need to pass some laws that will make it more legitimate, then we need to do that."
