DOT/DMV Workers Told Not to Tell People Voter ID is Free

The Department of Transportation has reportedly instructed Division of Motor Vehicles service center workers not to tell people they can get a voter ID card free, unless the patron knows to ask for it.

The July 1 memo obtained by the Capital Times tells employees they shouldn’t voluntarily tell people coming in to get an ID that they can check a box on the form to avoid the $28 charge normally associated with getting a state-issued photo ID. The memo was from Steve Krieser, the executive assistant to the DOT secretary.

From The Cap Times:

"While you should certainly help customers who come in asking for a free ID to check the appropriate box, you should refrain from offering the free version to customers who do not ask for it," Krieser writes to employees.

Krieser, who was recently promoted to executive assistant to the DOT secretary, instructs staff that customers should "self certify" their eligibility for the free ID. They can do that, he writes, if they meet the documentation requirements; if they are at least 17 years old; if they have checked the correct certification box on the new forms; and, most significantly, if they are "asking for a product that is available for free issuance."

The controversial Voter ID Law was signed by the governor on May 25. The law was in effect this summer, and If they didn’t have an ID with them, they were allowed to vote, but reminded that starting in 2012, they’ll have to have one in order to cast a ballot. 

Republicans pushed for the law, saying it would combat voter fraud. Democrats fought it, saying it would disenfranchise voters. Acceptable forms of ID include Wisconsin driver’s licenses, some student IDs, passports and voter ID cards.

Krieser defends the memo, reported The Cap Times, telling reporters that the language of the law did not require DMV employees to ask why people were coming in to get a photo ID and that they "are not going to be selling it at the counter as a free ID."

Since July 1, roughly 8,000 new IDs were issued and roughly 10,300 were renewed, according to figures given to The Cap Times by the Department of Transportation. Of those roughly 18,300 IDs, nearly 59 percent were issued at no cost.

The Cap Times spoke to one of Rep. Jeff Stone’s legislative aides about the legislation, who echoed Krieser’s position. Stone is a Republican from Greendale.

There are reasons other than voting for someone to need a photo ID, aide Michael Pyritz told The Cap Times and “the intent of the law was not to have anyone without an ID to ‘all of a sudden’ get a free one.”

Stone has been a strong advocate of the Voter ID law, as reported several times on Patch.

The Government Accountability Board plans to launch a major public education campaign about the voter ID law early next year, The Cap Times reports, including education on how the ID is free if you ask for it.

Read the full story on The Cap Times.