Sincerely,
TONY EVERS
Governor
Pursuant to s. 35.095 (1)(b), Wisconsin Statutes, the following 2023 Act(s) have been published: Act Number Bill Number Publication Date
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State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
December 7, 2023
The Honorable, the Senate:
I am vetoing Senate Bill 98 in its entirety.
This bill would require the Department of Transportation to mark identification cards of individuals who are not U.S. citizens with the phrase "not valid for voting purposes" or another recognizable identification and transmit certain personally identifiable information to the Elections Commission in order to verify the citizenship status of individuals on the official voter registration list.
I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to this bill requiring state-issued identification cards to have a ‘recognizable indication’ that could result in certain individuals being treated differently or unfairly in every day, non-electoral situations this legislation fails to consider or contemplate. An individual must already attest that they are a U.S. citizen in order to register to vote, and any individual who attempts to fraudulently or improperly vote is already subject to punishment under current law. This bill does not alter or affect these facts in any way; vetoing this bill does not alter or affect those facts in any way, either.
This bill does, however, fail to acknowledge and meaningfully consider the many different ways in which state-issued identifications are used in everyday settings wholly unrelated to voting. Despite few, if any, verified cases of voter registration by a noncitizen, this bill would effectively mark all of the identification documents of an entire group of Wisconsin residents as noncitizens. While I do not object to the data-sharing of citizenship information between the Department of Transportation and the Elections Commission, this cooperation could be accomplished without potentially causing certain individuals to be treated unfairly or perpetuating false narratives about our elections.
