Voter Photo ID Amendment
Dies in Senate
Over the past four years, I have been working to advance a measure that would require individuals voting or registering to vote in Wisconsin to prove their identity by showing a state issued photo ID or driver’s license. This effort has come in two forms; First, as separate legislative bills and, more recently, in the form of a proposed constitutional amendment.Each of the three legislative bills that would have established a voter photo ID requirement were passed by bi-partisan votes in the legislature but then vetoed, each time, by Governor Jim Doyle.
The constitutional amendment process began back in 2005 when Assembly Joint Resolution (AJR) 36 was approved on first consideration by the State Assembly by a vote of 57-36. It was also approved in the State Senate by a vote of 19-14.
The resolution received its second approval in the Assembly way back on April 17, 2007 by a vote of 54-43. Unfortunately, the Democrats who currently control the State Senate have allowed this important proposal to languish in the Senate over the past eleven months, never even holding a public hearing or allowing it to be scheduled for a vote.
On March 13, the State Legislature ended its 2007-2008 regular voting session. With the end of the session came the end of the voter photo ID proposal. After four years of bi-partisan work and support on this important issue, it is now dead until at least January 2009.
The death of this overwhelmingly necessary and popular initiative occurred because the Senate Democrats failed to allow the measure to even receive a vote. After many requests and pleas from me and from voters across the state, the Senate Democrats decided that they didn’t have time to focus on the important issue of protecting our constitutional right to vote.
Interestingly, the Senate Democrats did find the time to schedule public hearings and push through votes on the following legislative initiatives:
Senate Bill (SB) 215 – Designates June 19 as Juneteenth Day, a legal state holiday. Juneteenth celebrates and symbolizes the end of slavery in the United States.
Assembly Bill (AB) 212 – Current law designates a state song, ballad, waltz, dance, symbol of peace, beverage, tree, grain, flower, bird, fish, animal, domestic animal, wildlife animal, dog, insect, fossil, mineral, rock, soil, and fruit. AB 212 designates a state tartan.
SB 474 – Requires that limited X-ray machine operators to be licensed and permitted in order to engage in the practice of radiography in Wisconsin. The bill also creates a radiography examining board.
AJR 93 – This Joint Resolution proclaims June 7, 2008 as "Proper Drug Disposal Day."
AB 334 – AB 334 requires the DNR to designate wild and feral swine as harmful wild animals.
SB 504 – SB 504 permits a licensed manager to delegate supervisory authority over an apprentice to a licensed barber or cosmetologist who has completed at least 2,000 hours of practice as a licensed barber or cosmetologist.
AB 301 – Prescribes a seven-day holding period if a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer must submit certain reports to local law enforcement and the reports are required to be submitted in an electronic format.
Again, the Senate Democrats thought that these bills were more important than allowing you the chance to vote on the voter photo ID proposal. Each of these proposal were quickly scheduled for votes during the final days of the official voting session and, in most cases, regular Senate rules were suspended to ensure that they passed before the session ended. Voter photo ID, however, did not even receive a public hearing in eleven months!
I still believe that a photo ID requirement would go a long way toward ensuring the integrity of each vote cast in Wisconsin. I will be watching and monitoring the November elections in Wisconsin. Let’s all hope we don’t see the same problems as 2004.
Regardless, I look forward to working with like-minded, common sense legislators from both parties to re-start the process of improving our election laws and protecting legal votes when we reconvene in 2009. This important effort cannot die!
As always, it has been a pleasure communicating with you. Please remember to communicate with me and share your input by calling 888-295-8750, writing to me at P.O. Box 7882, Madison, WI 53707-7882, or by e-mailing me at Sen.Leibham@legis.wisconsin.gov. You can also log on to the 9th Senate District on-line office at www.leibhamsenate.com.
It is an honor representing the residents of the 9th District in the State Senate!