Representative Clancy Opposes Legislative Republicans’ Attempt to Enshrine Voting Barriers in Wisconsin’s Constitution

MADISON, Wis. – Today, Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-19) spoke on the floor of Wisconsin’s Assembly, condemning legislative Republicans’ crude effort to enshrine voting barriers in Wisconsin’s Constitution. He drew from his personal experience escorting voters in need to polling places –and showed that the majority is once again trying to twist Wisconsin’s elections in their favor.

Wisconsin law already forces voters to present ID at the polls, even if a voter has properly, legally registered to vote. This bill would make that a permanent feature of Wisconsin’s Constitution, despite the problems these requirements already cause for many people who want to vote –and are legally entitled to.

Rep. Clancy issued the following statement:

“Many people in Wisconsin want to vote, and are eligible to vote, but have been dissuaded from doing so by our ID requirements, first implemented in 2016. In my efforts to help transport folks to the polls, I often heard, ‘I can’t.’ Usually this wasn’t from folks who were ineligible to vote because they were on probation, or were non-citizens, but because they didn’t have a valid ID or an easy way to get one.”

From experience I know that there can be a huge difference between theoretically being able to vote and actually being able to vote. While you can technically get a no cost ID in Wisconsin, it’s still practically impossible for people who don’t have access to the proper documents, don’t understand the process, or can’t get where they need to obtain one. Let alone those of us who have trouble taking time off during business hours. Many Wisconsin residents no longer vote because we’ve put too many obstacles in their way.”

Voter fraud is not a widespread problem in the State of Wisconsin and is so infrequent that it’s difficult to count. The Heritage Foundation puts the number of fraudulent votes in Wisconsin —over the last 20 years and 28 elections— as 69 cases total out of 45,329,695 votes cast. That’s 0.0001522% percent. This is not a serious problem, but legislative Republicans’ proposed solution is a grave threat to voting rights.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.