$7.4 million? I thought we were broke, but not too broke to prevent people from voting.
Andy Heidt, candidate for 48th District State Assembly condemns the proposed Voter ID bill. “This bill does nothing to redress whatever discrepancies they perceive in the current system. And whatever happened to Wisconsin being broke? In a time of slashing money from public schools and public employees, how can we afford to spend $7.4 million on revamping a process that isn’t flawed in the first place? This is fiscal recklessness waged for the sake of a political agenda.” According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, it will cost the state $4 million to issue photo IDs to residents who can’t afford them on their own – otherwise there would be a poll tax – in the next two years, on top of a basic $2 million cost for the Government Accountability Board to implement the changes in the law, and the additional $1.4 million for the UW system to comply with the changes in student IDs.
Heidt gives kudos to Democratic opponents of the bill. “Opponents, particularly Senator Jauch and Representative Shilling hit the nail on the proverbial head with their critical analysis and advocacy against this bad bill.” In addition, Heidt calls on Senator Joe Leibham and Representative Jeff Stone, author and co-sponsor respectively of the bill, to produce evidence of voter fraud in Wisconsin. “It’s a solution to no known problem,” says Heidt. “It’s the willful and disingenuous tactics of the Republican Party determined to remain in power by disenfranchising the voices of the people spoken in votes.” In addition to Leibham and Stone, Heidt demands answers from Senator Alberta Darling, who co-chairs the Joint Finance Committee that approved the bill on Monday, and Representative Gary Tauchen, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Elections and Campaign Reform.
Heidt takes issue with other parts of the bill, too. Assembly Bill 7 seeks to change the residency requirement from 10 days to 28, effective immediately. Unlike the majority of provisions that would take effect in Spring 2012, the change in length of residency would go into effect immediately after the bill’s passage – or, as Heidt points out, just in time for summer recall elections. So far, four Republicans are officially facing recall elections (with potentially two more). If three lose to a Democratic challenger, and no Democrats lose seats in recall efforts against them, then the state Senate would flip and be controlled by Democrats. Last but not least, if the fall primary is moved to August in upcoming years, this measure will disenfranchise students and renters as most people move on August 15. “The Republicans are afraid of losing their jobs, but rather than listen to their constituents, they are taking their resentment out on them by preemptive disenfranchisement. It’s shameless.”
The full Assembly will be taking up the bill today.
