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Got ID? Here’s what you need to know to vote

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Appleton Post Crescent, 10/2/14

With the reinstatement of the Wisconsin voter ID law, you probably know that voters must present a photo ID to cast a ballot in the Nov. 4 election.

What you might not realize, though, is most Wisconsin voters already have an acceptable photo ID to comply with the law. A Wisconsin driver’s license, a Wisconsin ID card, a military ID card and a U.S. passport all meet the requirements, provided they didn’t expire before Nov. 6, 2012. Your driver’s license will suffice even if you changed address or if your driving privileges are revoked or suspended.

“A big confusion for people is they think the voter ID is a separate product that everyone needs to have,” said Kristina Boardman, deputy administrator for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). “If you have a driver’s license or if you have a Wisconsin ID card, you have everything you need. You don’t need to be coming in for a separate product.”

If you don’t have an acceptable photo ID, you can obtain one for free from the DMV. That sounds easy enough, but you need to plan ahead to avoid frustration and unnecessary delays.

First, you should know a free voter ID card is available only to people who are U.S. citizens, who will be at least 18 years old by the next election and who are eligible to vote. The card is not available to people who have a valid driver’s license; you can’t have both.

Second, you must visit a DMV service center to obtain a voter ID. The application can’t be completed online.

The DMV’s Appleton Service Center is located at 711 W. Association Drive near the U.S. 41-State 47 interchange. It is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on weekdays. The listed telephone number, 608-264-7447, routes you to a phone center in Madison, but the automated answering system has no option for voter ID. Appleton resident Leslie Richard learned that the hard way.

“You go around and around until you get to speak to a human being,” Richard said.

To help voters avoid a similar plight, Post-Crescent Media contacted the DMV to learn the necessary steps to obtain a free voter ID.

Upon visiting a DMV service center, you will be asked to fill out form 3004. Make sure you check the “ID for FREE” box to avoid any charge.

After the form is completed, the DMV staff will call you to have your picture taken. You then will be called to a processing counter, where you will need to provide the following documents:

• Proof of name and date of birth (U.S. birth certificate, U.S. passport or certificate of naturalization)

• Proof of identity (document with a signature or photo such as your Social Security card or marriage certificate)

• Proof of Wisconsin residency (paycheck, utility bill, cellphone bill or banking statement issued within the last 90 days)

• Proof of U.S. citizenship or legal status (U.S. birth certificate)

• Social Security number

“That’s it,” Boardman said. “Assuming that you have all of that documentation, we will go ahead and process it. There is no fee for that.”

You will receive a printed receipt with your photo and information on it, and the DMV will mail your plastic voter ID card to your home within a week. If the mailed ID card doesn’t arrive in time for Election Day, your receipt will satisfy the voter ID requirement.

If documents to prove your U.S. citizenship, name and date of birth, or legal name change are unavailable and require a fee to a government agency to obtain, the DMV has a separate petition process to verify the information.

“We want people to know there is a means to do that,” Boardman said. “You do not need to pay to get your birth certificate in order to obtain an ID for voting purposes.”

The DMV operates a voter ID hotline at 608-266-1069 to help voters through the process or to check on the status of a petition.

Between July 2011 and August 2014, the DMV issued 292,721 free voter IDs. Boardman said the reinstatement of the law last month hasn’t resulted in a flood of new requests at DMV service centers.

“It hasn’t been a significant spike at all,” she said.

— Duke Behnke: 920-993-7176, or dbehnke@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @DukeBehnke

‘Got ID, Wisconsin?’

United Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring every Wisconsin resident has a voice, created an interactive website titled “Got ID, Wisconsin?” to help voters sort through the voter ID law.

The online tool asks a series of questions to help voters determine what information and documents are needed and how they can go about obtaining those documents.

“The decision to implement Wisconsin’s voter ID law just seven weeks before Election Day has caused a great deal of confusion for Wisconsin voters,” said Lisa Subeck, executive director of United Wisconsin.

Subeck said she hopes the online tool “will educate voters about the new law and ensure that their votes will count on Election Day.”


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