This week, Republicans in the Wisconsin State Legislature continued their efforts to scale back voting access in the state, especially for college students.
What started in 2011 as a single bill to require state-issued ID cards for voting has grown into an all-out attempt to cut access to voting anyway possible. Republicans in the Senate and Assembly have introduced numerous proposals in the past two years that would have ended voter outreach programs, cut same-day registration and restricted early voting. While they failed to cut the registration initiatives, they have succeeded at dramatically reducing early voting opportunities in Wisconsin.
This isn’t the first time they have cut back early voting hours. In 2011, the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker cut Wisconsin’s early voting period nearly by half, from 23 days to 12. Today, they went further, ending weekend early voting and lowering that number to 10 days. The bill also limits how late clerks’ offices can stay open for early voting during the week.
The right to vote is the cornerstone of our nation’s history and democracy, and any attempt to restrict access to voting is troubling at the least. Still, to be fair, perhaps Republicans have a good reason for such dramatic changes. The GOP maintains that these restrictions are meant to save money, increase efficiency and reduce voter fraud. At face value, they sound reasonable.
Yet when we look at the facts, their story doesn’t add up. According to the Government Accountability Board, Wisconsin spends around $17 million on its elections in a presidential election year, less than .05 percent of the state’s $35 billion budget. If cutting spending is really the issue, we should focus on our state’s largest expenditures, not the smallest. Furthermore, local election officials, including the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association, have consistently opposed these changes. Speaking about a proposal last year to end same-day registration, the group’s spokesperson said these changes would not help officials, but actually would make things more difficult and less efficient for them.
The GOP argument for Voter ID, to fight voter fraud, may be one of the biggest political fabrications in our state’s history. They claim our current election system is being crippled by fraud and needs protection. Yet a nationwide 2012 study by the Carnegie Foundation found that “in-person voter impersonation on Election Day is virtually nonexistent.” The study found just 10 confirmed cases of voter impersonation in the U.S. during the last 12 years. Numerous other studies, including one specifically reviewing Wisconsin fraud cases, support these results.
Republicans continue to chip away at our right to vote because at the heart of the issue, they know that as more people vote, the GOP fares worse. Since a majority of those who vote absentee or lack photo IDs vote Democratic, it is easy to see why the GOP chose to focus on these areas specifically. Rather than trying to save any substantial amount of money, or cutting fraud where it actually occurs, the Republican Party is doing anything it can to fix the rules in their favor.
As students, these policies significantly impact us and our ability to vote. Many of us, especially those from outside Wisconsin, lack a state-issued photo ID. (The GOP was careful to make sure your Wiscard wouldn’t count.) We take advantage of same-day registration and early voting more than any other age group in the state.
These are OUR rights, which WE must stand up for. Republicans across the country will continue to curtail voting rights while we let them get away with it. This year, stand up: Speak out to your representative. Support pro-voting rights candidates, so we can undo the damage done here to democracy and safeguard the right to vote for all Wisconsinites and Badgers for years to come.
Alex Derr ([email protected]) is a member of the Young Progressives and a sophomore majoring in political science and environmental science.
