Joe Wineke, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin rushed this Press Release to the public today claiming it proves “Republicans are not interested in election reform; they are interested in stacking the elections in their favor and turning away voters like the elderly, women, African Americans, Hispanics, and young people who traditionally vote Democratic.” It may well have been a “Howard Dean Moment” with yips and whoops and the euphoria that comes from unbridled expression of simultaneous superiority and contempt.
The press release while filled with invective is missing almost anything from the actual report so in the interest of accuracy, here is the link. The Drivers License Status of the Voting Age Population in Wisconsin (PDF) by John Pawasarat, Employment and Training Institute, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, June 2005. The report which compares census data to drivers license lists appears to make the case that the Wisconsin Drivers License system is to messed up to be an effective ID system of any kind.
The first major issue centers on the fact that not everyone has a drivers license. When the existing license holder population is divided up, it is clear there are subgroups that either don’t drive or don’t drive legally. The caution that must be applied to this analysis is that not having a drivers license does not mean the person does not have a photo ID. “A portion of the population without a drivers license – whether valid or not – will have a photo ID, but without an analysis by race and location, it is not possible to estimate that population.”
This study generates lots of graphs from the manipulated data but since the number of other photo ID holders by their own admission is unknown, it raises the question: so what? Besides, the whole study ignores the fact that there are provisions in all proposed voter ID legislation to provide ID for those who need them. If you are a legal Wisconsin voter you can vote.
A second issue concerns the accuracy of the residential information on the drivers license. ”Those students and young adults living away from home but retaining their permanent home address on their drivers license need to provide proof of residence to vote prior to registration under current laws. Because the drivers license is a valid ID, regardless of address, few if any in this population would have a photo ID with a current address.” This is also a concern in minority populations that move frequently.
The problem that Republican sponsored photo ID legislation is attempting to correct is the accuracy of voter identification. The current system attempts to verify residential location but does not attempt to verify the individual actually doing the voting. If Democrats want the existing photo ID system to be considered flawed beyond utility, then where is Joe Wineke’s outrage that students, minority youth and the elderly are shut out by this unfair, unjust and inaccurate system required just to buy Sudafed? Do the poor not suffer their allergies the same as the rich? The hypocrisy is just unbelievable.
