With expectations of low voter turnout for the statewide spring primary, the first election requiring photo identification from voters at polling places was held Tuesday in a primary for an open Dane County Circuit Court seat.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, voter ID forms accepted at polls on Tuesday included not only a state-issued driver’s license or identification card, but also receipts of purchase for either form. Andrea Kaminski, chair of the Madison Election Advisory Committee, said few problems were projected with accepting IDs at the polls, but the process was slowed significantly.
“I don’t expect there will be many problems,” Kaminski said. “But I noticed when I went in to vote this morning, the voter ID process certainly slowed things down. It took me longer to check in than it did to vote.”
Municipal Clerk Thomas Lund said provisional ballots for the primary election, provided to voters who forgot to bring identification to the polls with them, were issued only three times. Provisional ballots are not counted the day of the election and instead are returned to the city clerk’s office. Voters have until Friday to present identification to the office for their ballot to be counted in the election, Lund said.
Kaminski, who is also the executive director of the League of Women Voters in Wisconsin, added the list of acceptable IDs for voting in Wisconsin is the most restrictive in the country, and therefore it may be possible for some voters to come in with some sort of photo ID that is not acceptable at the polls.
The primary election was called because there are three candidates running for the same seat on the court, Kaminski said. The three candidates, Roger Allen, Ellen Berz and Francis Sullivan, are running for the position on the circuit court.
“The two candidates that get the most votes Tuesday will be the winners of the primary, and they will be the two candidates on the ballot on April 3,” Kaminski said.
According to University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden, turnout in February primary elections is usually quite low. There are not many “names of interest” to voters on the ballot, and the elections are non-partisan, so party politics only play a small role, he said.
Associated Students of Madison Legislative Chair Hannah Somers said student turnout is expected to be low as well.
“I voted at 10:30 this morning, and I was the first voter,” Somers said. “No voting place has been above about 10 [students] right now, so I’m guessing turnout is going to be kind of low.”
Somers said Dean of Students Lori Berquam sent a campus-wide email drawing students’ attention to the primary election. The email included a video instructing students how to obtain an additional ID card, Somers added.
After the state Legislature passed the new law that required a form of ID to be shown at voting polls, UW decided to issue a card at no cost to enrolled students, Wiscard Program Manager Jim Wysocky said.
“This card is really only of value to people who do not have a Wisconsin driver’s license or a U.S. passport,” Wysocky said. “If you need to use the voter ID, then you also have to provide proof of enrollment.”
The campus-issued voter ID cards are valid for two years from the day of issuing, and students must maintain their enrollment to be able to use it, according to Wysocky.
