An interesting twist to the debate over Voter ID. Apparently requiring voters to present identification is only one of a list of things Rep. Jeff Stone wants to change about state elections. The Badger Herald:
The voter ID bill Stone drafted is slightly different from a similar one introduced in the Senate earlier this year, and also includes moving the primary elections from September to the second Tuesday in August, ending straight party ticket voting, except for military and overseas voters, and requiring voters to be a resident for 28 days instead of 10 before an election.
Ending straight party ticket voting. That will earn high marks from Ben Manski, who has advocated not only abolishing the option to vote for the party-line, but making all elections non-partisan. This is what the Green Party candidate wrote after losing the race for the 77th Assembly district against Brett Hulsey (D).
We must not allow that bias to block social change. We should strengthen efforts to unite progressives regardless of political party affiliation. And we need to advocate that all elections and government operations become non-partisan. Democracy requires the separation of party and state.
That's not saying you should expect to see Manski testifying in support of Stone's bill. If anything, he will be there protesting against it.
Moving the primary date means far fewer students will vote in the primaries. However, as the Journal Sentinel has pointed out, the federal government is mandating that states move their primaries back to allow military and overseas voters more time to receive ballots and vote.
However, changing the length of residency from 10 to 28 days doesn't seem like it will have a noticeable effect on student voting in the general election, since virtually all students have been in the state for at least two months by November.
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