AB 947

With certain limited exceptions, before being permitted to vote at any polling

place, an elector currently must provide his or her name and address. If the elector

is not registered, the elector must provide a specified form of proof of residence in

order to register. If an elector is not able to present any required proof of residence,

as an alternative, current law permits an elector's registration information to be

corroborated by another qualified elector who resides in the same municipality. In

addition, an elector other than a military elector or an overseas elector, as defined

by federal law, who registers by mail and who has not voted in an election in this state

must provide one of the forms of identification specified by federal law, or a copy

thereof if voting by absentee ballot, in order to be permitted to vote. Corroboration

may not be substituted for this identification requirement, but an elector who cannot

provide the required identification may cast a provisional ballot. The municipal

clerk or board of election commissioners must determine whether electors casting

provisional ballots are qualified to vote by 4 p.m. on the day after an election.

With certain limited exceptions, this bill requires each person attempting to

register or vote at the polls on election day to present a valid Wisconsin driver's

license issued to the person by the Department of Transportation (DOT), a valid,

current identification card issued to the person by a U.S. uniformed service, or a valid

Wisconsin identification card issued to the person by DOT or, if DOT implements the

provisions of the federal REAL ID Act, an identification certificate issued to the

person by DOT (see below). A person whose address is confidential as a result of

domestic abuse or in certain cases a person who has been required by a law

enforcement officer to surrender his or her license (see below) is exempted from the

requirement. Under the bill, any person who applies for an absentee ballot, except

a military or overseas elector, as defined by federal law, or a person whose address

is confidential as a result of domestic abuse, must provide a copy of the license or

identification card, unless: 1) the person has already provided a copy of his or her

license or identification card in connection with an absentee ballot cast at a previous

election and has not changed his or her name or address since that election; 2) the

person has been required by a law enforcement officer to surrender his or her license

(see below); 3) the person is indefinitely confined, in which case the person may

submit a statement signed by the person who witnesses his or her absentee ballot

verifying his or her identity; or 4) the person is an occupant of any nursing home, or

of a community-based residential facility, retirement home, adult family home, or

residential care apartment complex where a municipality sends special voting

deputies, in which case the person may submit a statement signed by the deputies

verifying his or her identity. The bill continues current requirements for certain

electors to provide proof of residence in order to register or to vote, but discontinues

the use of corroborating electors to verify residence. If a person votes at a polling

place fails to provide a license or identification card, the person may vote