Election Day is Nov. 4, and back and forth implementation of the controversial voter ID law has a lot of people asking, “What’s next?”
UW-Milwaukee officials say they are still giving out student Voter ID cards and urge students to obtain them even though the law was, once again, put on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday may have blocked Wisconsin’s voter identification law, but an election reform expert is calling the decision purely procedural and expects the requirement to be in place at some point in the future,” says Adam Tobias, a Wisconsin Reporter.
If students still need to register, there are three ways to do it. They can either register at the union at one of the voter registration tables, at the poll on Election Day or by mail 20 days prior to Election Day. Students with a valid driver’s license must provide their license number and expiration date on the form. Students with no identification must provide the last four digits of their social security number to register.
Dorothy Dean, a special registration deputy, said she would be delighted to help any students who have questions about voting. Students can find her on the first floor of the Union, at one of the voting tables. Dean reminisces on the days when Wisconsin didn’t have this law confusing the citizens. She feels that the law shouldn’t have been passed.
Although voting is a little more challenging for some, Dean’s top priority is to have everyone vote. “If we want a strong democracy people have to vote,” says Dean. She has been a special registration deputy for ten years and since the law changed, Dean is pleased with how many people have been registering and getting their IDs.
Dean feels there has been a steady stream of people registering to vote, happy that someone is there to help.
A lot of students are still unaware that there was a law change or that a voting requirement ever existed. However, some of the students that were aware became slightly frustrated by the extra steps they had to take.
One student from Fox Point could not register in the Union because it was now against the law. When she was informed of this fact she became aggravated. She felt that it was “stupid” to have this law change from the beginning.
Now that the law has been put on hold students are left with the same question, “what’s next?”
“I say still get the voter ID. If you don’t need it, good, if you do, then at least you have it,” says Amanda, a UWM student.
Many students feel that Wisconsin juggling with the law is unfair to the voters. They would prefer if the new law didn’t exist altogether. But, to pass it, then put it on hold again, leaves them weary about rather or not it may be passed again. Most active voters believe it’s better to be “safe than sorry,” and encourage getting your student issued voter ID regardless of where the law currently stands.