Opinion

For many, voter ID bill threatens rights

Stripping honest, taxpaying citizens of Wisconsin of basic rights was unfortunately a recurrent theme of Republican Party policy this year. Even when Governor Doyle stood in the way of those plans by vetoing bad bills, the Republicans were ready and waiting with a Plan B (and definitely not the kind that Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager is suing the FDA over) to disenfranchise a new segment of our population.

Wisconsin Republicans who have been prevented from passing detrimental legislation (sometimes multiple times) are now repackaging their failed plans as constitutional amendments. It's true — they really have the gall to use our state constitution as a tool for discrimination! Republicans have been operating according to the mantra "if at first you don't succeed, then propose a constitutional amendment."

When the Republicans' initial attempt to deny committed lesbian and gay couples the same basic legal rights as heterosexual couples was vetoed, they reintroduced their policy as an amendment to the Constitution. Now they want to do the same thing with voting rights — except this time the targeted groups are young people, minorities, the disabled and the elderly. You know — those groups that traditionally vote against Republicans in large numbers.

You've got to give the Republicans credit for this brilliant political strategy though. First they hyped up rumors of voter fraud in the wake of the November 2004 election. (Republican attorney Steve Biskupic laid these rumors to rest last week when he announced his nearly yearlong investigation yielded no proof of conspiracy to steal an election.) Regardless, Republicans used those claims (the ones they hyped and blew out of proportion) to back up their reasoning for their voter ID proposal, which has been vetoed in bill form three times. Now, as an amendment, it has passed the Assembly and is awaiting action in the Senate. If the amendment passes through the Senate, Governor Doyle will not be able to veto it. That's the catch with constitutional amendments — the governor has no official role in the process. Three years ago our state elected a Democratic governor because we needed some common sense to balance out the Republican-controlled legislature. Republicans, miffed that they don't have unfettered power, are using the constitution as a way around their Democratic obstacle and are now threatening the voters in this state with the very permanent possibility of limiting who can vote.

A driver's license costs $18. The amendment, unlike earlier versions of the bill, does not guarantee free IDs to those who can't afford them. So Republicans are essentially telling you that you can't vote if you don't fork over some cash first. That sounds familiar — isn't that what happened in the South before the Voting Rights Act was passed? Yes — it's called a poll tax and it's shameful that Wisconsin legislators view this as acceptable practice.

What's just as outrageous is that under the amendment merely possessing an ID doesn't guarantee your right to vote. If your address is outdated, you're out of luck. If you have a driver's license, take it out. Is the address printed on it the address you currently reside at? Mine isn't. It's unreasonable to expect a college student to get a new ID every time he or she moves to a new apartment. It's troubling that failing to do so would mean he or she was ineligible to participate in the political process.

State officials estimate that 123,000 voting-age Wisconsinites do not have photo IDs or lack IDs with their current addresses. These people (myself and many other UW students included) have a right to vote. The Senate should reject this amendment in the name of equal voting rights for all — including those of us who don't possess current $18 photo IDs.

Liz Sanger (ejsanger@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in violin performance and English, and hails from Wauwatosa, Scott Walker's city of residence.