Voter photo ID rule already in effect

Wisconsin Republicans can relax about requiring photo ID cards for voters.

The requirement is already in effect, at least at one Waukesha County polling place. It wasn't even necessary to pass a new law. All it took was a badly-trained poll worker.

Mike Murphy, executive director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin -- and one of the few Waukesha County Dems who is out publicly -- was voting in the special election for county exec last week when he witnessed the new, illegal procedure.

When the young woman in front of him in line tried to register at the polls, the poll worker demanded a driver's license. No license, no vote, she said.

Murphy intervened and helped the young woman register, but it wasn't easy, as he explained in a letter to County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus about the incident, at the Oconomowoc public library:

Your poll official demanded that a woman trying to register to vote present her driver's license. When the voter said she had forgotten it, your poll official claimed that the woman would be unable to register or vote unless she could present a valid driver's license. No offer of a provisional ballot, no request for additional information - just a simple statement of no license no vote.

... I happened to be standing there and was able to intervene and make sure this voter was able to exercise her rights. It wasn't easy, though. Your poll worker put up quite a fight, arguing for her own misguided interpretation of Wisconsin law.

I pointed out to your poll worker what is clearly laid out on the State Elections Board website:

As of January 1, 2003, the federal "Help America Vote Act of 2002" requires any person registering to vote to supply their Wisconsin Department of Transportation - issued driver's license or identification card number. If the elector does not have a Wisconsin driver's license or I.D., they must provide the last 4 digits of their Social Security Number, or indicate that the applicant has neither a driver's license nor a Social Security Number.

Although the Registration Form may ask for either the Driver's License number or the last 4 digits of the Social Security Number, a voter should not be turned away if they lack that information. If you cannot supply acceptable Proof-of-Residence, your registration form can be substantiated and signed by one other elector who resides in your municipality, corroborating your residency information.

It wasn't until after the voter pointed out that the registration form actually had the check boxes allowing you to write your Social Security Number, or indicate that you had neither, did the poll worker finally, and grudgingly, relent. Apparently, that was the first time this particular poll worker bothered to look at the registration form...

The focus of election officials in Waukesha County and across the state should be to help the citizens of Wisconsin cast their ballots, not finding ways to turn eligible voters away from the polls.

Nickolaus, in a reply to Murphy, agreed that the poll worker was not properly trained, noted that the training is the responsibility of local clerks, not the county, and invited him to be a poll worker at the next election.

The young woman he helped? She said she was voting for Dan Vrakas, the Republican-backed state legislator who won the race. Murphy didn't say how he voted.