State Representative Elizabeth M. Coggs says “no to the voter identification card legislation known as; Senate Bill 6.” Come and let your voice be heard regarding the fast tracking of the voter identification bill in Madison. The Senate will be holding a public hearing by the Committee on Transportation and Elections, Monday, January 26, 2011; 10:00 am, State Capitol-411 South.
Senate Bill 6 is related to: requiring certain identification in order to vote at a polling place or obtain an absentee ballot, verification of the addresses of electors, absentee voting procedure in certain residential care apartment complexes and adult family homes, identification cards issued by the Department of Transportation, creating an identification certificate issued by the Department of Transportation, requiring the exercise of rule-making authority, and providing a penalty.
I will be opposing the bill and would hope that people of Milwaukee County will do the same. This is another way to disenfranchise and run off potential voters away from participating in the democratic process. This will have serious impacts in the 2011 Spring Election and this is part of the master plan to keep voters away from the polls. The League of Women Voters estimates there are approximately 21 million people nation wide; who do not have photo identification cards and the majority of them are low income urban individuals. This is also a regressive tax on people because it requires them to get have the photo identification issued only by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation; which will make revenue.
“Unfortunately, legislators of Wisconsin are using this voter photo identification assumption of fraud; for a problem that does not exist. Also election commissions and poll workers will not have the time to be prepared or properly trained if this immediately goes into effect.” said Representative Elizabeth M. Coggs.
In the 2008 presidential election, we saw an historic turnout among young adult, African Americans and Latinos. Now, some of the Wisconsin State Legislators want to take those advances away. Voter ID laws exacerbate low voter turnout; this is not the time in history to enact measures that risk depressing the vote of seniors, students, people of color and other citizens.
