Governor Doyle vetoed Republican backed Photo ID legislation for the third time. Lance Burri, a member of the Badger Blog Alliance, is asking why our Democratic Governor keeps killing this legislation.
Earlier today, Governor Doyle vetoed Senate Bill 42: a bill to require photo I.D. at the polls. The idea is simple: prove that you are who you say you are, so we know you’re not stealing somebody else’s vote.I’ve written several posts about this matter and decided the answer is not ideological. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is not continually killing serious election reform on principle. The Democrats wrap a veneer of high minded platitudes around what is essentially their desperate understanding that they need the votes of individuals with questionable ID’s.
As I’ve said before, Photo I.D. polls better among Wisconsin voters than Trident Sugarless Gum among dentists. It’s an 80% issue among Wisconsin voters – people want a secure election process.
The Republicans, on the other hand, have been completely wrong in using the term Photo ID. This ill conceived marketing phrase allows the Governor to correctly claim he is keeping the government from carding you at the polls. Showing ID is a common transaction, including for most other governmental interactions, but it is not a task that creates positive emotional excitement. 80% of Wisconsin voters may ‘think’ it is a good idea make sure a person is a legitimate voter before allowing them to actually vote, but they obviously don’t ‘feel’ upset if the poll worker accepts them at their word.
The Republicans need to start calling this Accurate Vote Reform because it will be a lot more difficult for the Democrats to put out press releases denouncing Accurate Voting. Bring this up a forth time with a better name and keep making the point that Accuracy is the most important goal for Wisconsin elections then make people angry when the Democrats defend the position of accepting inaccuracy to preserve ease and comfort.
