Wisconsin residents may be able to register for their driver’s license and vote at the same time if a bill in the Legislature gets approval by the end of the legislative session.

The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approved the bill, which would provide significant reforms to Wisconsin’s election and voting process, in a 10-4 vote on party lines Wednesday.

The Voter Protection Act has five major elements developed to make Wisconsin elections more accessible to citizens, according to a joint statement from bill sponsors Sen. Spencer Coggs, D-Milwaukee and Rep. Jeff Smith, D-Eau Claire.

The bill would increase access to absentee ballots, especially for military personnel. Municipalities would be allowed to set up satellite locations for voting that would make absentee voting easier.

A voluntary system where citizens could automatically register to vote through various state agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, would be established. Voting workers would also be allowed greater flexibility in testing equipment to reduce their workload.

Finally, the bill establishes a voter bill of rights that creates penalties for voter suppression and intimidation.

Coggs said he is pleased with the JFC’s vote on the bill because it gives recognition to the idea the ballot should be accessible to all citizens. Wisconsin prides itself on easy ballot access, however there are still issues, such as long voter lines and early voting that can impede access to ballots.

“You have a complicated absentee ballot system that’s not accessible to the ballot box … and when on election day you can have people who are hired from out of state to come in and suppress votes of people of color, that’s not access to voting either,” Coggs said. “Our bill deals with all of those instances.”

The bill has not received support from everyone, however.

Rep. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, said in a statement he is concerned over how drastically this bill may affect Wisconsin elections and thinks it will have a lasting negative impact.

“This legislation has very little merit. Other than a few items that improve the voting process for military and other overseas electors, this is the worst bill this legislature will vote on,” Roth said in the statement.