A student government committee created a strategic plan aimed at convincing University of Wisconsin Chancellor Rebecca Blank that Wiscards should be changed so they qualify as valid voter identification cards Tuesday.
Since state government passed legislation making voter ID requirements stricter, the Associated Students of Madison’s University Affairs Committee is concerned students will be discouraged from voting or will be unaware of what is considered valid ID, chair Sally Rohrer said.
“In my opinion as young people, we are least likely to vote and the more barriers there are between us the more difficult it will be to get students to vote,” Rohrer said.
To vote or not to vote: Many still unaware of voter photo ID law
To alleviate this problem, the committee proposed changing the Wiscard to have a signature on the back of the card to make it a valid form of voter ID.
While UW is already planning to add a digital chip to Wiscards, Blank decided against creating a place for signatures in January. UW administration decided the changes would be too expensive for students that wouldn’t need them.
Blank said the signatures on the back of the cards could also pose a potential security risk.
After deciding to continue to advocate for Wiscard changes, the committee brainstormed how to prove to Blank the importance of making the ID a valid form of voter identification.
Rohrer said writing an editorial piece is one way the committee could demonstrate the large number of students concerned by the issue.
Another idea included having students who disagreed with Blank’s decision write letters to her. Rep. Carmen Gosey suggested sending Blank a giant Wiscard with signatures on it by students who support making the card a valid voter ID.
Rohrer also discussed using other institutions that have switched their ID cards to make them valid voter IDs to exemplify the ease of doing so to Blank.
The committee decided it would start with a minor form of action, like writing the editorial piece, before engaging in a more progressive course of action like writing letters to the chancellor.
The committee will meet again Feb. 16.
