Common Cause Wisconsin: March 2016

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Do you have what you need so that your vote will count on April 5th?

Common Cause in Wisconsin Reform Update
Tuesday March 29, 2016

1. Voting in Wisconsin requires some advance planning. Do it now!
2. Updated comprehensive information about what college students need to be able to vote
3. The Walker/Republican Legislature "me-first" session.

1. One week from today, Tuesday, April 5th, is HUGE (as Donald Trump would say)! Wisconsinites could have a decisive impact on the outcome for the nomination for the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. And, a critical State Supreme Court contest hangs in the balance in what is expected to be a very close election. Voter photo ID is in place and required for this and all subsequent Wisconsin elections. Please make sure you have what you need in order to be able to cast your ballot on April 5th and have it count!

If you are casting an in-person absentee ballot at your municipal clerk's office, you can do so through close of business, Friday, April 1st. Hours vary by municipality, so contact your local municipal clerk to confirm hours for early voting.

For additional information on the photo ID you will need to present when casting a ballot, please see the links below.

All Eligible Wisconsin Voters
(Spanish Language version)

Senior Citizens
(Spanish Language version)

College Students

Click here for more on getting ready to vote in 2016!

If you do not have a photo ID that is acceptable for voting and have any questions about getting a free photo ID to vote – or need assistance getting required documents – call one of these Voter ID Helplines: 608-729-7720 or 414-882-8622 to reach a team of folks helping voters across the state.

Last week CC/WI released comprehensive information about what public and private college and university students in Wisconsin need to know about voter photo ID in order to vote in the April election and beyond. We have updated that information with the very latest on what students need to know if they do not have one of the required forms of photo ID illustrated below.

Most students already have one of the acceptable forms of photo ID for voting, pictured left, such as a Wisconsin driver license.

Students who do not have one of the acceptable forms of photo ID pictured left: Look up your institution NOW on the appropriate list linked below to find out if your current student ID is an acceptable form of photo ID for voting in the April 5th election and beyond. If your standard student ID is not acceptable, then you can also find out if your school offers a special photo ID card for voting, and how you can get it.

University of Wisconsin – 4-Year Schools
University of Wisconsin – 2-Year Schools
Wisconsin Private Universities & Colleges
Wisconsin Technical Colleges

Remember, if you use a college-issued photo ID when voting, you must ALSO present a proof of current enrollment document such as an enrollment verification form, tuition bill or class schedule (it doesn't have to be hard copy, you can show this on a smartphone, tablet or laptop).

3. The just-ended 2015-16 legislative session saw the wholesale destruction of accountability to the citizenry and of transparency by the GOP majority and by Scott Walker.

It was all about consolidating raw political power.

CC/WI weighs in in this excellent analysis by Katelyn Ferral of The Capital Times.

CONTACT:

Jay Heck

608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)

Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686

Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
www.CommonCauseWisconsin.org

Monday, March 21, 2016

WI College & University Students Must Check NOW to Ensure They Are Able to Vote on April 5th and Beyond

For Release: Monday - March 21, 2016

WI College & University Students Must Check NOW
to Make Sure they Are Able to Vote on April 5th and Beyond

Status of College-Issued IDs for Voting
at Wisconsin Colleges, Universities, and Technical Colleges

Wisconsin's very strict voter photo ID law is in effect for all 2016 elections in this state, including the upcoming and critical April 5th election in which a state supreme court justice will be selected, our state voters' preferences for the Democratic and Republican candidates for the U.S. Presidency will be determined, and numerous important local offices and issues will be decided.

Students should confirm now if they already have a photo ID that is acceptable for voting on April 5th and beyond, culminating in the all-important November 8th election that will select a new U.S. President, a Wisconsin U.S. Senator, and numerous other federal and state elected officials.

Most students already have a Wisconsin driver license or one of the other acceptable forms of photo ID for voting pictured left.

(Click to enlarge image)

However, those students who do not have one of these acceptable forms of photo ID for voting will (e.g., many students from out of state) will need to find out if their current school-issued student ID can be used as a voter photo ID – and, if their student ID cannot be used for voting, whether or not their school offers an alternative photo ID for voting and how to obtain it.

Students who do not have one of the IDs pictured left AND whose schools do not offer an ID that is acceptable for voting can go to their local DMV and get a free DOT-issued Wisconsin ID (see this voter photo ID fact sheet for details on how to get a free ID at the DMV) – or, if they are from out of state, vote with an absentee ballot in their home state.

Common Cause in Wisconsin (CC/WI) reached out to all 64 of Wisconsin's colleges, universities and technical schools to help students determine the availability of a school-issued ID that could be used as a required photo ID at a polling place for those students who do not already have one of the other photo IDs acceptable for voting. We also collected information about where and what days and hours students could get a school-issued photo ID for voting, if one is offered, and provided additional voter photo ID education where needed.

Of the 64 institutions we contacted, all but one school – Gateway Technical College – provided definitive information. We will update this page with links to revised lists as new information is confirmed.

We urge students who do not have one of the other acceptable forms of photo ID to look up their institution NOW on the appropriate list below to find out if their current student ID is an acceptable form of voter photo ID in order to be able to cast a ballot on April 5th and beyond. If it is not, then you can also determine if you are able to obtain a school-issued voter photo ID from your school and how to do so.

The standard student ID at only three of the University of Wisconsin's 13 four-year schools and at seven of the state's 23 private colleges can be used as a voter photo ID.

University of Wisconsin – 4-Year Schools
University of Wisconsin – 2-Year Schools
Wisconsin Private Universities & Colleges
Wisconsin Technical Colleges

For more information, please see this voter ID fact sheet for Wisconsin college and university students and visit BringIt.WI.Gov.

Remember, voting is a right none of us can afford to lose. Make sure you are ready to vote NOW!

CONTACT:

Sandra Miller

smiller@commoncause.org

608/256-2686 (office)
608/658-2109 (cell)

Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686

Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
www.CommonCauseWisconsin.org

Thursday, March 3, 2016

CC/WI Calls on Governor to Find Out Why WI DOT Has No Mobile DMV Program to Distribute Voter Photo ID

Common Cause in Wisconsin Reform Update
Thursday - March 3, 2016

1. State and national organizations' letter to WI DOT requesting establishment of a Mobile DMV program to distribute required voter photo ID remains unanswered for eight months – CC/WI calls on Governor Walker to intervene.

2. What every Wisconsin citizen needs to have in order to be able to vote in compliance with the voter photo ID law.

3. Partisan appointments to newly established Wisconsin GAB "Commissions" underscore how misguided and harmful the destruction of the non-partisan GAB will be to Wisconsinites.

1. Last June, CC/WI and 12 other state and national public interest organizations sent this letter to Wisconsin Department

of Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb requesting the establishment of a mobile Division of Motor Vehicles program comprised of vehicles that visit under-served communities throughout the state to distribute DOT-issued photo ID now required in order to cast a ballot that will be counted in Wisconsin elections.

The letter was never acknowledged and a follow-up phone inquiry on February 1st also never received a response, despite assurances that we would receive one.

Other states that have enacted voter photo ID laws such as Alabama, Indiana, Texas and Virginia have all established mobile DMV service centers. Wisconsin is a glaring omission from this listing.

Today, CC/WI sent this letter to Governor Scott Walker, requesting that he rectify this situation that his own Department of Transportation has completely ignored. We hope to receive his affirmative response in short order as there is now only a little more than four weeks until the April 5th Spring election.

2. As was just mentioned, the April 5th Spring election is almost upon us, in which Wisconsin will select a Justice to serve a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Please take a moment and review this vital information to make sure that you, your family, friends, neighbors and fellow citizens are "armed" with the information you need in order to comply with the voter photo ID law, which is in effect for all elections during 2016:

Voting is a right you can't afford to lose!

Click the links below to download one-page

Voter ID Fact Sheets for:

All Eligible Wisconsin Voters
(Spanish Language version)

Senior Citizens
(Spanish Language version)

College Students

Click here for more on getting ready to vote in 2016!

3. Last Fall, Republicans in the Legislature rammed through hyper-partisan legislation that eviscerated the eight-year-old, non-partisan Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB) which oversees our state's election, ethics, campaign finance and lobbying laws. CC/WI played a major role in devising and enacting into law (in 2007) the establishment of the GAB, working closely with legislators of both political parties over a five-year period following the infamous 2002 Legislative Caucus Scandal.

The GAB worked very well, but Republican legislative leaders and Governor Walker wanted partisan control of the decisions made by the GAB and so in 2015 they stripped away the non-partisanship and independence that the GAB has been empowered with in order to be able to effectively ferret out corruption in state government, no matter who the target of an investigation might be. CC/WI led the statewide

effort opposing the destruction of the GAB, but the Republicans went ahead with the misguided and dishonest legislation – despite almost unanimous and significant public and editorial opposition to this action.

Last week, the first partisan appointments to the newly formed partisan Ethics and Elections Commissions (to replace the current six, non-partisan retired judges) were named by partisan legislative leaders.

CC/WI commented in this front page article in the Wisconsin State Journal about the appointments and the WSJ issued this editorial condemning the new, partisan appointment process.

CC/WI Director Jay Heck also explained why this is a step backward on Wisconsin Public Radio and on Wisconsin Public Television.

We will, of course, follow the other partisan appointments to the GAB and comment as necessary.