The Republican Party of Wisconsin launched a radio-advertising campaign Monday to increase support for a bill requiring voters to show photo identification when registering at election polls.
The ads encourage potential voters in eight major markets to express their support of the bill to Democratic senators and to Gov. Jim Doyle, Republican Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Chris Lato said.
“The point of these ads is to drive home the concern that our open election system is too open to fraud, to abuse and to someone canceling out legitimate votes by fraud and election abuse,” Lato said.
The ads will run until April 6, when the bill is scheduled for consideration in the state Senate. Approximately 1,000 ads will air during AM talk-radio programs in the specific markets, Lato said. The Republican Party also started a petition drive to gather thousands of signatures to show the Democratic governor.
State Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, is one of the four senators targeted in the campaign. His office received eight calls about the bill, five in favor and three against the legislation. Hansen said these numbers are “miniscule” in comparison to the number of calls he usually receives after similar ad campaigns.
Hansen said he is inclined to vote against the bill because it challenges certain individuals’ rights to vote, and he feels there has not been sufficient evidence of voter fraud to merit such measures.
“It seems to me this is a rush to judgment,” Hansen said. “They are looking for a cure before the diagnosis.”
State Rep. Jeff Stone, R-Greendale, introduced the legislation to improve some of the current problems with the registration process, including people registering to vote multiple times, Stone legislative aid Michael Pyritz said. The bill passed in the State Assembly in February by a vote of 64-33.
“[The bill] gives a certain amount of credibility that the person trying to register to vote is, in fact, the person on the ID,” Pyritz said. “There has been anecdotal evidence of voter fraud in different parts of the state, including in the Milwaukee area.”
Hansen said the anecdotal evidence is not enough.
“Do we change the whole system because there are problems in one part of the state? I do not think so,” Hansen said. “To make a progressive state like Wisconsin take a step back is absurd. We should be proud of our democratic heritage and our right to vote.”
Doyle will veto the bill if it is passed in the Senate, Doyle spokesperson Melanie Fonder said.
“More than 120,000 Wisconsin residents do not have a photo ID — nearly 70 percent of whom are elderly,” Fonder said. “If Republicans were serious about reform, they would be talking about a broader package that includes safeguards against voter fraud.”
