America Votes - Wisconsin

Neither students nor universities are simply accepting the new restrictions that would disenfranchise a large number of young people. University of Wisconsin students are either receiving new ID cards that comply with state law, or they can request a supplemental ID to bring to the polls. Students in Pennsylvania are using baked goods to protest a house bill that would instate similar restrictions. The University of Pennsylvania College Democrats recently gave out free baked goods to only those students who could present a valid ID. Those who could not were instead given a box of raisins plastered with a sticker protesting HB 934.

Not all college students are treated fairly, either. In Wisconsin, 400,000 students attend technical colleges, and the student IDs issued by these schools are not acceptable as voting ID. These students make up 10% of the state's voting age population. State officials have oscillated between policies allowing the use of technical IDs, and those disallowing the same cards. A final decision should be reached by mid-December.

Unfortunately college students are not the only population facing disenfranchisement. About 25% of African American voters and 18% of elderly voters may lack appropriate ID. One 84 year-old woman provides a particularly compelling case against the hardships that this new law may cause. When Ruthelle Frank was born in Wisconsin in 1927 she was not issued a birth certificate. She is a citizen, has a social security card, and has voted regularly since 1948, but she lacks a proper ID card. To further complicate matters, while her local register of deeds has an official record of her birth; her name is misspelled on the record. She now faces a lengthy battle and a potential cost of $200 to correct this clerical error and receive a valid ID so that she may vote.

Ruthelle is one of many. 177,399 Wisconsinites, or 23% of those over age 65, do not have proper ID and now need to jump through bureaucratic hoops in order to vote. Minorities, of any age, are also disproportionately more likely to lack proper ID.

Whether a newly minted 18 year old attending college, or an 80 year old who has been voting for years, everyone deserves the right to vote. However new laws requiring strict adherence to showing a photo ID prior to voting, put this right in jeopardy.

Under the new rules, unions would have to get 51% of all the members of the organization, not just 51% of those voting, in order to recertify. Even with certification, unions would have almost no bargaining rights. In March, Walker signed legislation ending all union bargaining for public employees except for limited negotiations over wages. Union employees can't bargain for raises larger than the rate of inflation unless approved by voters in a referendum.

"You go through all that and all you get to do is bargain (for limited raises)," said Bryan Kennedy, president of the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin.

The legislation requires that unions go through yearly recertification votes to keep their official status. Unions can exist without the official status, but government employers don't have to recognize or bargain with them over anything.

Only four state unions have filed petitions for recertification elections, mostly extremely small unions like the 58-member Professional Employees in Research, Statistics and Analysis. The president of the union, Jeff Richter, acknowledged that the small size makes it possible to win a recertification election.

Governor Walker declined to comment on the decertification.

I arrived in Wisconsin yesterday morning to help We Are Wisconsin with their GOTV effort. Yesterday we had an amazing GOTV kickoff with more than 500 people showing up to get fired up for the weekend and for the election on Tuesday. This morning I came to the Madison office to canvass and was joined by over 50 others who were going to canvass as well. 50 people would be a great number to canvass to begin with, but when you consider that there are no special elections in Madison and that some of these folks were driving to cities and towns up to two and a half hours away, it really was extrodinary.  I carpooled with three other people up to Baraboo, Wisconsin; on our way I asked them why they became involved in the fight. In a simple but stunning answer Alder Swanson replied, "because I want my state back."

Upon arriving in Baraboo we were told that all of the turfs had already been passed out because of the overwhelming number of volunteers, so we headed up to Portage to canvass instead. The level of devotion and heart that is happening here is amazing and is one of the reasons I am more confident than ever that we will be successuful this Tuesday and next.

• Early voting by mail would be cut to 21 days under the Republican plan.
• The new law would ban early voting by machine anywhere except at county elections offices.
• The legislation also would forbid counties from mailing unsolicited absentee-ballot applications to voters

These restrictions would mean that 4 out of every 10 voters in Columbus alone would not have been able to vote when and where they did in 2008.

In addition to these limitations in Ohio, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin signed a similarly restrictive bill into law earlier this year requiring Wisconsin voters to present a photo ID, making it harder to vote for groups like elderly voters, young voters, students, minorities and low-income voters. Now that he has signed that law, Walker is making it even harder on voters by finalizing a plan to close up to 10 offices where people could have obtained photo IDs. All of these efforts are working to suppress the vote and trying to reshape the electorate in time for the 2012 elections rather than encouraging more people to have their voices heard.