With certain limited exceptions, before being permitted to vote at any polling
place, an elector currently must provide his or her name and address. If the elector
is not registered, the elector must provide a specified form of proof of residence in
order to register. If an elector is not able to present any required proof of residence,
as an alternative, current law permits another qualified elector who resides in the
same municipality to corroborate the elector's registration information. In addition,
an elector other than a military elector or an overseas elector, as defined by federal
law, who registers by mail and who has not voted in an election in this state must
provide one of the forms of identification specified by federal law, or a copy thereof
if voting by absentee ballot, in order to be permitted to vote. Corroboration may not
be substituted for this identification requirement, but an elector who cannot provide
the required identification may cast a provisional ballot. The municipal clerk or
board of election commissioners must determine whether electors casting
provisional ballots are qualified to vote by 4 p.m. on the day after an election.

With certain limited exceptions, this bill requires each person attempting to
register or vote at the polls on election day to present a valid Wisconsin driver's
license issued by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to the person, a valid,
current identification card issued to the person by a U.S. uniformed service, or a valid
Wisconsin identification card issued by DOT to the person. A person whose address
is confidential as a result of domestic abuse or in certain cases a person who has been
required by a law enforcement officer to surrender his or her license (see below) is
exempted from the requirement. Under the bill, any person who applies for an
absentee ballot, except a military or overseas elector, as defined by federal law, or a
person whose address is confidential as a result of domestic abuse, must provide a
copy of the license or identification card, unless: 1) the person has already provided
a copy of his or her license or identification card in connection with an absentee ballot
cast at a previous election and has not changed his or her name or address since that
election; 2) the person has been required by a law enforcement officer to surrender
his or her license (see below); 3) the person is indefinitely confined, in which case the
person may submit a statement signed by the person who witnesses his or her
absentee ballot verifying his or her identity; or 4) the person is an occupant of any
nursing home, or of a community-based residential facility, retirement home, adult
family home, or residential care apartment complex where a municipality sends
special voting deputies, in which case the person may submit a statement signed by
the deputies verifying his or her identity. The bill continues current requirements
for certain electors to provide proof of residence in order to register or to vote, but
discontinues the use of corroborating electors to verify residence. If a person votes
at a polling place fails to provide a license or identification card, the person may vote
provisionally. If a person votes by absentee ballot and fails to provide a copy of the

---

license or identification card, unless exempted from the requirement, the ballot is
treated as a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot is marked by the poll workers,
who immediately contact the municipal clerk or board of election commissioners.
The person may then provide the required identification either at the polling place
before the closing hour or at the office of the clerk or board. If the person does not
provide the required identification to the clerk or board by 4 p.m. on the day following
the election, the person's vote is not counted. If a person receives a citation from a
law enforcement officer in any jurisdiction that is dated within 60 days of the date
of an election and is required to surrender his or her Wisconsin operator's license at
the time the citation is issued, the elector may present an original copy of the citation
or notice of intent to revoke or suspend the elector's operator's license in lieu of his
or her operator's license or, if the elector is voting an absentee ballot by mail, may
enclose a copy of the citation or notice in lieu of a copy of his or her operator's license.
In this case, the bill provides that the elector's ballot is received and counted if
otherwise valid, but the ballot is marked so it can be identified during the canvassing
and recount process if the validity of the ballot is questioned.

The bill also permits an elector who is eligible to obtain a Wisconsin
identification card to obtain the card from DOT free of charge, if the elector
specifically requests not to be charged. The bill permits an applicant to receive a
Wisconsin identification card without a photograph being taken, as currently
required, if the applicant provides an affidavit stating that he or she has sincerely
held religious beliefs against being photographed, that he or she is a member of a
religious organization or identifies with the tenets of a religious organization and
names that organization, and that the religious tenets of that organization prohibit
such photographing.

Currently, municipalities must send two special voting deputies (one
designated by each major political party if the party wishes) to conduct absentee
voting in nursing homes. Municipalities may also send the deputies to conduct
absentee voting in community-based residential facilities and retirement homes
that qualify for the service in accordance with standards prescribed by law. This bill
permits municipal clerks and boards of election commissioners to send two special
voting deputies to conduct absentee voting in adult family homes and residential
care apartment complexes that qualify for the service in accordance with similar
standards prescribed by law.