WisconsinÂ’s population is substantially less likely to have a state-issued identification. A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee study showed the following about those without state-issued driverÂ’s license and who would need to obtain photo identification under the Wisconsin voter ID bill:
• Over 178,000 elderly Wisconsinites.
• 17 percent of white men and women.
• 55 percent of African-American men and 49 percent of African-American women.
• 46 percent of Hispanic men and 59 percent of Hispanic women.
• 78 percent of African-American men age 18-24 and 66 percent of African-American women age 18-24.
Additional statistics about Wisconsin lack of accessible Division of Motor Vehicles offices compared to Indiana:
• 26 percent of Wisconsin’s 91 DMVs are open one day a month or less, while none of Indiana’s are open less than 100 days a year and nearly all are open over 250 days a year.
• Wisconsin has only one DMV with weekend hours, while Indiana has 124 offices with weekend hours.
• Three Wisconsin counties have no DMVs, no Indiana county is without a DMV.
• Over half of Wisconsin’s 91 DMVs are open on a part-time basis, while Indiana provides full-time DMVs in every county.
Republican claims of widespread voter irregularity have long been debunked. After a two-year investigation, Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has found only 11 potentially improper votes cast out of nearly 3 million votes in 2008. The former Wisconsin U.S. attorney under George W. Bush, Steve Biskupic, concluded after a similar investigation that there was no widespread voter fraud. The majority of charges in all of these cases involved felons who were technically ineligible to vote.
Scot Ross: Why voter ID bill may be unconstitutional