Scott Walker henchman Steve Krieser, executive secretary for the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation, has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
In states where a photo identification is required to vote, Republican lawmakers have been able to avoid legal challenges to the rule by giving away free voter ID cards, thereby ducking the label of a “poll tax.”
But in Wisconsin, which recently passed one of the nation’s most restrictive voter ID laws, another roadblock exists: ignorance.
A leaked memo written by a high-ranking Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation official stipulates that DMV workers are not to offer the voter ID, leaving it to the patron to explicitly ask for the free ID, then fill out the proper paperwork.
“While you should certainly help customers who come in asking for a free ID to check the appropriate box, you should refrain from offering the free version to customers who do not ask for it,” Steve Krieser, executive secretary for the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation, wrote to employees.
To be clear — unless you explicitly ask for a free voter ID, they will charge you for one.
And how many people visiting, or not visiting, the DMV are both aware that they now need a voter ID and that they can obtain one for free if they ask?
Probably very few. Most people don’t have the time to keep up with the news like some of us do.
This is a poll-tax that relies on the voter being unaware of their own rights. It’s no different than charging an entrance fee at the voting booth which voters can chose not to pay if they are aware that they are not obligated to.
