With the first election requiring voters to provide photo identification fast approaching, an option for identification other than drivers’ licenses or students IDs will now be accepted at polls across the state.

The state Department of Transportation announced Friday that receipts for either Wisconsin drivers licenses or state identification cards are considered valid forms of identification to vote in the spring primary election Tuesday, said Patrick Fernan, Department of Motor Vehicles deputy administrator.

Receipts for identification cards are typically for customers getting a Wisconsin ID for the first time. The receipts contain a picture, bar code and the same information that would be present on a drivers’ license, Fernan said. Receipts are valid 45 days after issued, but identification cards typically arrive three to five days after the order is placed.

“The receipt is officially a document allowed for use for voting under Wisconsin statutes,” Fernan said.

Issuing a receipt and having intervening time between ordering and receiving an identification card also ensures voter fraud does not occur, Fernan said. The DMV can run official recognition screenings on voters to check that they do not already have a form of ID or their collecting address is correct. More than half of U.S. states follow a similar practice of mailing drivers’ licenses and providing receipts.

For University of Wisconsin students, voter identification can be obtained on campus. The Wiscard office in Union South printed 246 cards as of Feb. 13, Program Manager Jim Wysocky said.

Some students will not need the ID card because Wisconsin state identification or U.S. passports are sufficient identification, but the office is helpful to students without driver’s licenses or who have not traveled extensively, Wysocky said.

“There are a lot of things to know and be aware of with the new voter ID law, what is an appropriate ID,” Wysocky said. “This really benefits students.”

To get a voter ID, non-Wisconsin residents need to show their Wiscard at the Wiscard office, and the card is free to students. Non-Wisconsin residents will need to provide proof of enrollment to register to vote and at the polls by printing a copy of their UW Enrollment Verification Letter.

According to Tyler Junger, special assistant to the Dean of Student Life, there has been a steady demand for voter IDs.

“We’re doing our best to disband confusion and contact students the best we can,” Junger said.

Junger said he thinks UW has yet to see demand peak for the IDs and students will be more interested in them during the presidential election this fall rather than the upcoming state election.

Allie Gardner, Associated Students of Madison chair, said student involvement is key in developing the UW voter ID program.

“It’s completely appropriate and necessary for the university to provide such a service, considering the role the institution plays in developing and graduating civically engaged citizens,” Gardner said.

Gardner added it would be beneficial for students to realize the spring election is during UW’s spring break, a time when many students will not be on campus.

UW plans to continue voter ID card distribution as long as the voter ID law remains in effect, Junger said.