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| Wisconsin Catch 22 on Voter Obstruction |
Update: Here's Richard Pinney's PR with contact info.
Folks may need a birth certificate to get a photo ID to vote, but they are told by the State and County bureaucracies they need a photo ID to get a birth certificate.
Citizens acting to ensure registered legal voters in Wisconsin are not denied their right to vote due to the Voter ID law have uncovered a big snafu with the potential to invalidate the entire law.
State law doesn't require a photo ID to get a birth certificate, but 2/3 of the counties are using forms that say a photo ID is required to get a birth certificate.
Richard Pinney built a website, Get Voter ID, to help people get a voter ID, but in the process found the snafu, a Catch 22 that Republicans love.
In fact, as Pinney notes:In a systemic state-wide failure, the Election Division of the Government Accountability Board, the Department of Health Services, 48 counties and the Wisconsin Register of Deeds Association all post a link to a mail-in form that explicitly requires submitting a copy of the applicant's 'current valid photo ID'.So, some folks may need a birth certificate to get a photo ID to vote, but they are told by the State and County bureaucracies they need a photo ID to get a birth certificate. What is this the U.S. Army?
View the complete GetVoterID.org Report here (PDF) with links to all sites-in-error mentioned above and examples of several versions of the mistaken photo ID requirements.
This bit me a couple years ago when I needed to renew my license. DMV found that the name I have always used on my license didn't match what Social Security had. I have a hyphenated last name, but have always just used the last of the names. DMV said I had to bring in a birth cert before they would issue an new license. So I came back with a copy of my birth cert. Then they tell me it has to be an original or a certified copy. I don't have either, so I had to go to Walworth County to get the birth cert. By the time I get around to getting the birth cert from the register of deeds, my license has expired. The register of deeds then tells me that they wouldn't issue the birth cert because my license is expired! Thankfully, after I explained that the expired license is the reason I need the document, they said they would look the other way and issued one anyway. When the voter ID law was passed, I immediately though about what a hassle it was and how most people probably wouldn't bother if it was "just to vote."
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