Members of student government reviewed legislation Monday asking for a swift decision concerning new voter IDs for University of Wisconsin students and a separate bill asking the university not be added to a proposal that would allow more differential tuition programming.
Legislative Affairs Chair Hannah Somers presented a voter ID update to members of the committee, speaking primarily on an Associated Students of Madison statement released earlier Monday.
Somers said the statement regarded legislation to be introduced in Council asking for the university to make a final decision concerning student IDs.
The university had previously said it would make new IDs for students so students would have a valid form of identification to vote in future Wisconsin elections, according to Somers. As of yet, no formal plan has been made to implement these changes.
“In my personal opinion, we really just need to know soon what the university is doing so we can continue working on this,” Somers said.
According to the statement, cost estimates range from $200,000 to $500,000 for the initial cards and the two-year reissuance required by the legislation.
Somers added the proposal also asks administration to find additional funds to cover these students and to not charge students extra.
To help test the effects of the law, a mock election is slated for today from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in room 108 of the City-County Building, the statement said. The election is intended to give Madison officials a better idea of how the elections would work under the provisions of the voter ID bill and what impacts would be made.
Somers also spoke on previously introduced differential tuition legislation, asking for a general consensus before Council votes on it Wednesday.
The legislation is an added measure to prevent UW from being added onto a bill allowing for four institutions – UW-Stevens Point, UW-Parkside, UW-Green Bay and UW Colleges – to implement differential tuition programs.
If passed, the Stance on Differential Tuition legislation would mark a visible statement that ASM is against UW being added to this bill and will advocate against any inclusion.
“Personally, I agree with the legislation,” Representative Leland Pan said. “I think it should be brought up on the chance UW administration wants to be on this list.”
He also said other universities, such as UW-Stevens Point, have reached out to ASM to say they do not want UW to be added as they feel this addition would be against the purpose of the bill.
Representative Libby Wick-Bander agreed this inclusion contradicts the bill’s intent.
“[This would] defeat the purpose of what [the bill] was,” she said. “This was for campuses that did not have differential tuition to get differential tuition, not for universities already with differential tuition, like UW, to increase it.”
The committee also turned its attention to city alcohol policy following last week’s meeting with the City Alcohol Policy Coordinator Mark Woulf.
