The Sconi

The Wisconsin State Senate has passed a new bill that will require absentee voters to verify their identity in order to vote. 

Senate Bill 204 (SB 204) passed in the Senate on Wednesday, June 9 with a vote of 18-14. SB 204 also will restrict the automatic mailing of absentee ballots by mandating an absentee ballot request process before the mailing of the ballot is done, an Election Transparency Initiative article said. 

“We are grateful for the leadership of State Sen. Duey Stroebel in introducing this critical election transparency legislation and for Sen. Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu who ensured it received its day on the floor," Ken Cuccinelli, national chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, said in a statement as reported by Election Transparency Initiative. 

Cuccinelli said that the American people have a right to easy voting, and procedures in place to make it hard to cheat, so that the people can trust in the voting process. 

"Americans have a right to be confident that it is easy to vote and hard to cheat. There is no reason why voting-by-mail should have fewer safeguards than voting-in-person – a consistent voter I.D. requirement is simply common sense," he said, as reported by Election Transparency Initiative. 

Wisconsin does provide a free voter ID card for residents that do not have an existing form of ID and wish to vote. Wisconsin also does not prohibit anyone from a state ID card because of age, but does prohibit an ID card and Wisconsin state driver's license to be held at the same time.

"Wisconsin now allows its residents, who are U.S. citizens age 65 and over, to obtain an ID card which never expires! The ID card is free if used for voting purposes and, once issued, the card never needs to be renewed. No more visits to a DMV," the Wisconsin Department of Transportation said on its website. 

Wisconsin had 75.8% voter turnout rate, the third-highest in the nation during the 2020 elections, according to Statista.  

A poll released by the Honest Elections Project shows 77% of voters across the nation support ID requirements for voting and 64% of voters said that the laws should be strengthened. Interestingly enough, supporter percentages for ID requirements were similar for all major parties. 

A Rasmussen report found 75% of likely voters said showing a photo ID to vote is necessary for a “fair and secure election process.” The polling also found that 85% of registered voters said it is “common sense” to require photo ID.