Since 2016, voters have been required by state law to present a valid ID at their polling place in order to vote. On this election day, Wisconsinites will decide whether to enshrine voter ID requirements in the state constitution. Supporters of the ballot measure hope to protect voter ID requirements against future legal challenges, while opponents say voter ID laws create excessive obstacles to participating in elections.
John Johnson is a researcher at the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education. He spoke with WUWM digital producer Graham Thomas to discuss his recent findings for the Marquette Law School Blog on who lacks a voter ID in Wisconsin.
"I didn't know what I would see when I began this project," he says. "I just realized that no one that I could find had really looked into it since the litigation about a decade ago, and I was gratified to discover that really most people do have IDs."
Around 94% of adults have a voter ID in Wisconsin, Johnson found, although he says that number is likely higher. As for the estimated 6% of eligible voters who lack a voter ID, he found age to be the most significant factor — with 18 to 20-year-olds who aren't enrolled in college being the most likely group to lack a voter ID. His research also shows a significant association between poverty and not having a voter ID.
"When you do the math, maybe 2%, 2.5% of adults in the state might be people who are in poverty and lack an ID," he says. "But in general, I think what we've seen since the voter ID law went into effect is that the share of the population who has an ID has gone up a lot."
Johnson attributes this increase to the way things shook out during the years-long legal battle over 2011's voter ID law. In particular, he says that provisions were added to the bill over time that allow for a relatively wide range of valid voter ID — including free photo ID cards that can be obtained from the DMV with minimal paperwork.
"The thing I think about with this is, if you're someone who lacks a photo ID that makes your life more difficult every day of every year, not just on Election Day," he says. "I think not being able to vote might be the least of your worries if you lack a photo ID, and so helping everyone who's eligible for one get one is just a good thing to do."
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