News
January 14, 2025 | By Benjamin Yount
Policy Issues
Ballot Integrity

Republicans Trying to Ease Fear About Voter ID Constitutional Amendment

Lawmakers are rushing the plan through at the beginning of the new session to get the question to voters in April.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly say nothing is going to change if voters approve the constitutional amendment on voter ID this spring.

Assembly Republicans return to the Capitol Tuesday to take the final vote on the plan.

“Wisconsin voter ID requirements have been widely successful in preserving the election integrity and ensuring that citizens are confident that the ballots cast are legitimate,” Rep Pat Snyder, R-Weston, told reporters Tuesday. “ Polling has consistently shown that voter ID requirements are widely popular, with one 2024 poll by the Pew Research Center showing nationwide support of voter ID at 81% .”

Snyder said he helped write the voter ID amendment to “ensure that the people of Wisconsin have full confidence in the security and integrity of Wisconsin elections.”

While that may have been the beginning of the push for a voter ID amendment, lawmakers are rushing the plan through at the beginning of the new session to get the question to voters in April.

Snyder and others worry that the liberal-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court will overturn the state’s voter ID law.

But lawmakers brushed-off questions as to whether they are rushing the process.

“There are plenty of reasons to do it today,” Rep Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa, added. “You want to get it to the voters for the next available election, which is coming-up in April.”

Democrats at the statehouse continue to say that Republicans are moving too quickly, are prioritizing the wrong things, and are trying to enshrine something that is already law.

Krug said the fact that voter ID is already the law, and has been for more than a decade, should calm any fears that anyone may have about adding a voter ID requirement to the state's constitution.

“[Voters] will see the question exactly as it is,” he explained. “That's one of the things we strive to make sure, is that we've got a good grasp on it, making sure it's clear, concise, and easy to understand. You never want to go to the voters in a confusing mode. So we're going to be as clear as humanly possible on the language, just saying that the state of Wisconsin is going to require photo identification to vote .”

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