An ordinance passed by Madison’s City Council that will allow city residents access to voter registration forms through their residence has struck controversy with local landlords.
According to Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, the ordinance passed by City Council requires landlords to distribute change of address and new registration forms to new tenants, providing them a convenient opportunity to register to vote along with information sheets.
“One of the major issues we found on off-campus polling locations is students either aren’t registered or if they try to register, they don’t have the necessary information to prove their residency,” Resnick said. “You used to be able to have a friend vouch for your address, but that system is now gone in Wisconsin, and we’re looking for other avenues to get students registered to vote.”
Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, sponsors the ordinance. She said voter ID law procedures have made voting more difficult and that the ordinance is logical since about half of Madison’s tenants are renters.
She said one of the new rules as a result of the voter ID law stipulates when someone changes their address on election day, poll workers must go through a time-consuming process that delays citizens from voting. She added on the day of the recall election this past June, there were 19,000 students who changed their address for the summer and had difficulty voting.
“We’re frequently not able to count absentee ballots until 8 p.m., and given the demographics of the city, it’s important to take note that this is a proposal that would benefit renters citywide,” Maniaci said. “This is not a measure strictly targeted or limited to students; it’s about how we make the city as a whole function well on election day.”
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the ordinance has been very controversial with local landlords. He said the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin is opposed to it, as well as many individual landlords.
According to Resnick, some landlords do not want to be involved in the voting process and feel that providing additional pieces of paper to tenants is burdensome.
Maniaci added although some landlords in opposition claim they will incur costs because of the ordinance, there will be no extra cost to them because the city will provide all forms.
“All we’re saying is we want the forms to get to the voters,” Maniaci said. “It’s the voters’ responsibility to fill the form out; it’s not the landlords’ jobs to take care of the forms.”
Verveer said the ordinance will be adopted in time to affect students and other residents during move-in day on Aug. 15.
Resnick added earlier this summer, City Council and the Building Code Committee passed the Locks Ordinance, which required landlords to change their passcode on locks as a safety precaution. He said council also added additional police officers to the Downtown Safety Initiative.
The Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin could not be reached for comment.
