After the University of Wisconsin launched a complimentary student voter ID card program at the beginning of this week, officials said students are slowly trickling in to pick up their soon-to-be required identifications. 

Following the adoption of state-wide legislation requiring a valid state-issued ID card to vote in Wisconsin, UW announced it would provide students with an acceptable identification that could be used in the next elections.

WisCard Program Manager Jim Wysocky said since Monday, about 10 to 15 students each day have come in to get the IDs. He said the process for obtaining ID cards is very simple and was not difficult for the office to set up. For a student, the process takes about two minutes.

“It’s pretty easy because we were able to set this up within our existing identification program,” Wysocky said. “It’s a pretty simple and straightforward process.”

Wysocky also said it is hard to guess how many people will come in to get the voter IDs this semester, but said he does not anticipate a large rush of students.

UW students can vote in Wisconsin if they will be 18 on the election date. They also need to be a citizen and a resident of Wisconsin for at least 28 consecutive days before the election.

Wysocky said many Wisconsin residents likely already have photo identification, but that it is important to provide the ID service for any number of students who the voter ID law affects, namely out-of-state students. 

“It’s great that the campus is providing this to students. The university has gone the next step, but they’ve also been very proactive about getting the word out,” Wysocky said. “I think the campus has done a great job of making this accessible to students.”

Katy Culver, a UW journalism professor, sent an email to some of her students Thursday encouraging them to get voter ID cards if they need to.

In an interview with The Badger Herald, Culver said students sometimes overlook what steps they need to complete in advance. She said since the voter ID legislation poses a new problem for students, she felt getting the word out would be beneficial.

“Having them think about this in advance is much better,” Culver said. “It’s going to increase their ability to exercise their ability to vote, which is their right.” 

Culver added she feels UW has done a good job of promoting a message of civic involvement and said she applauds the university for setting up and advertising a system for students.

According to a UW statement, the IDs will expire two years from the issuance date by law, and they may not be used for any other purposes at the university.

The first election when students have to use the IDs will be the Feb. 21 spring primary, which precedes the April 3 spring general election and the Aug. 14 fall primary.

The WisCard office is located in Union South and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.