The GAB will hold apress conference at 2 p.m. today to let Wisconsinites know how it is goingto implement the new regulations. They don’t have much time to figure thingsout. The general election is on Nov. 4, and more than 11,000 absentee ballotshave already been sent out. Stay tuned.
Here’s Moore’sletter:
September 16,2014
Kevin J. Kennedy
Director and General Counsel
State of Wisconsin GovernmentAccountability Board
212 East Washington Ave., ThirdFloor, P.O. Box 7984
Madison, WI 53707
Dear Mr. Kennedy,
Following the decision on Friday by theSeventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the injunction blocking Wisconsin’s voter IDlaw (Act 23) has now been lifted and the state is free to begin itsenforcement. I am writing this letter to request that you wait untilafter the November election to begin implementing Act 23 because of theirreparable harm and mass confusion it will cause.
As you are well aware, there are numerousstudies demonstrating the harm that will occur to voters who lack qualifyingforms of identification under voter ID laws like Act 23. In Wisconsin,U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman recently found that an estimated 300,000, orabout 9% of Wisconsin voters, lacked a qualifying ID under Act 23’s strictrequirements. It also comes as no surprise that Act 23 woulddisproportionately affect certain vulnerable subpopulations, including seniors,students, African Americans, Hispanics, and other people of color. Despitethese facts, it is deeply concerning to hear reports that the state intends tofully implement this pernicious law that could disenfranchise so many voters’fundamental rights in a democratic society.
Enforcing Act 23 for the Novemberelection will also cause widespread confusion for voters and electionofficials. Until the Seventh Circuit decision last Friday, it is myunderstanding that election officials were operating under the assumption thatno voter ID law would be in place. For example, it has been reported thatover 11,000 absentee ballots have already been mailed without voter IDinstructions. Further, it would be a tremendous burden on the state tosufficiently train 1,852 municipal clerks and countless poll workers before theelection.
It is also disturbing that there havebeen no public education efforts on voter ID for over two years, and many of myconstituents in the Fourth Congressional District are unaware that they willneed to obtain an ID. Moreover, the new ‘free ID’ guidance, in responseto the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling, is untested and likely to beinsufficient to provide IDs to everyone who is lacking in light of the shorttime frame. It is frankly irresponsible for you to immediately implementsuch a major change in our election law with the November 4th election date(and even sooner considering in-person absentee voting begins on October 20th).
If you do decide to move forward with theAct’s implementation, I urge you to explain: 1) how you will implement theAct’s identification requirements without disenfranchising any Wisconsincitizen’s democratic right to vote; 2) how you will handle the absentee ballotsthat have already been issued without instructions; and 3) how you plan to dealwith those Wisconsin voters who are unable to get a free identification card(under your new guidelines) before election day. Clear and conciseguidelines are integral to any implementation of this Act, and it is your dutyto ensure that our elections are conducted in a fair and transparent manner.Sincerely,
Gwen Moore
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
CC: Judge Thomas Barland, Chair,State of Wisconsin Government Accountability Board
CC: The Honorable J.B. Van Hollen,Attorney General, State of Wisconsin
