As the state election season approaches, the League of Women Voters voiced concerns over a possible bureaucratic quagmire surrounding the identification documents necessary to receive an ID that will be accepted to vote at the polls.

A statement released by the League said citizens could be caught in a Catch-22 when trying to get an ID, saying if citizens need a photo ID to vote, they will have to show a certified birth certificate. However, if citizens need a certified birth certificate, they will be required to show a photo ID.

According the statement, just a few weeks ago you could order a copy of a Wisconsin birth certificate by mail without this documentation. You had to provide information, such as your parents’ names and your date and place of birth, and then the postal service provided the final check by not delivering a birth certificate if the person does not live at the address.

The statement said the changes came when the Department of Health Services’ Vital Records Office recently revised its policies to request that citizens include a copy of a government-issued photo ID with their mailed or in-person request for a birth certificate.

A statement from the American Civil Liberties Union said the civil rights group is also currently pursuing a lawsuit in federal court to challenge the voter ID law. The organization claims the law violates the 14th and 24th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Wisconsin ACLU spokesperson Stacy Harbaugh said she is concerned with the implications of the voter ID law. Under the new law, citizens who were able to vote last year will not be able to do so this year, Harbaugh said.

“The biggest problem that this law has created among qualified voters is a lot of confusion,” Harbaugh said. “Even regular voters are confused about what the photo ID law really says.”

Current law requires Wisconsin residents to present a current photo ID, typically a driver’s license, at a polling place in order to vote. Voters without driver’s licenses can also obtain a free ID card at a Department of Motor Vehicles service center.

According to ASM Legislative Affairs Chair Hannah Sommers, the new voter ID law comes with new policies for University of Wisconsin students and to obtain a voter ID card, students must visit the Wiscard office and verify their signature before the card can be printed.

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Executive Director Mike McCabe said the voter ID law limits the ability of students, senior citizens and low-income people to vote because these groups of people are unlikely to possess necessary identification, particularly driver’s licenses.

“A lot of people don’t think anything about this law … because they have a voter ID. They don’t think about the groups of people unlikely to have an ID,” he said.