New Voting Law to Affect Out of State Students

Recently, there have been changes in the voter identification (ID) laws in the state of Wisconsin. Now, for a person to vote in Wisconsin, a person must have a valid, pre-approved Wisconsin state id, such as a driver's license or state ID.

Although these are new laws, most students here at the college who are residents of Wisconsin will experience no changes in the way they vote.

According to Peace and Justice Director Dr. Robert Pyne, voting "shouldn't be any problem at all." The most difficult hurdle is to actually convince young people to register and then actually vote on election days.

For out-of-state students, however, these voting laws will slightly alter the way they are used to voting in Wisconsin. These students will have to provide a valid Wisconsin ID in order to vote as a Wisconsin resident.

To be considered a resident, a person must be living in Wisconsin for at least 28 days. Then, they must register to receive a valid ID.

This is a "simple process" according to Pyne, and will not take too much effort on behalf of the student. If an out-of-state student has a passport or military ID, the new voting ID law will not affect them whatsoever.

However, an out-of-state driver's license will no longer be accepted at the voting polls. If a student without a passport or military ID wants to vote in Wisconsin, they must register here, and give up their state's driver's license in favor of a Wisconsin license or ID card.

For any student planning on voting in Wisconsin, Pyne recommends that they "register early" and not wait until they get to the actual polling place to register.

The school will provide a list of students to all De Pere polling places, but it is much simpler and faster to register earlier. At the voting polls, all a student needs is proof of Wisconsin residency to vote.

Sometime next semester, Pyne and the rest of the Peace and Justice faculty members, along with Dr. Charles Jacobs, assistant professor of political science, will send all students a flowchart to simplify the registering process for all St. Norbert students.

This flowchart will have likely scenarios for all students, and hopefully make it simple for everyone to vote where they wish. The team also hopes for more students to register and vote in the 2012 elections.