SB 199

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

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

Wisconsin identification card issued by DOT to the person. 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 by mail, 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 who votes at a polling place fails to provide a license or

identification card, the person may vote provisionally. If a person votes by absentee

ballot and fails to provide a copy of the license or identification card, unless exempted