It won’t create any jobs or stimulate the economy, but legislation requiring voter identification appears to be on the fast track at the Capitol. The bill, which proponents say will provide new assurances on the integrity of elections in Wisconsin and which opponents claim will make it more difficult for some people to exercise their right to vote, was the subject of a day long legislative hearing on Wednesday.

State Senator Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee), who’s voted against previous versions of voter photo identification, noted there have been few prosecutions for voting violations. “If we’re going to spend literally millions of dollars to give people these photo I-Ds, what’s the problem? If the vast majority of these are mistaken identity or clerical error, isn’t this a solution in search of a problem?” Coggs said that investigations into allegations of election fraud following recent election turned up “less than a dozen cases” of intentional violations in each election. [Read more...]