March 1, 2023 - Introduced by Senators Stroebel, Bradley, Cabral-Guevara, Cowles, Nass and Tomczyk, cosponsored by Representatives Knodl, Allen, Armstrong, Behnke, Binsfeld, Brandtjen, Brooks, Dittrich, Duchow, Edming, Green, Gundrum, Kitchens, Magnafici, Michalski, Moses, Murphy, Mursau, Neylon, O’Connor, Rettinger, Rozar, Schraa, Tittl and Tusler. Referred to Committee on Government Operations, Elections and Consumer Protection.
SB98,,22An Act to amend 5.056; and to create 343.17 (3) (a) 16. of the statutes; relating to: verifying citizenship of individuals on the official voter registration list and contents of operator’s licenses and identification cards. SB98,,33Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau Current law requires the administrator of the Elections Commission to enter into an agreement with the secretary of transportation to match personally identifiable information on the official voter registration list with the information maintained by the Department of Transportation. Under this bill, the agreement with the secretary of transportation must also provide the commission access to personally identifiable information maintained by DOT in order to verify that individuals on the official registration list are U.S. citizens. In addition, the bill requires the commission to conduct the verifications as soon as practicable after the effective date of the bill and immediately whenever an individual registers to vote or modifies his or her registration.
The bill also requires DOT to place on the face of an operator’s license or identification card issued to a person who is not a U.S. citizen the words “Not valid for voting purposes” or another readily recognizable indication that the license or identification card may not be accepted for voter identification purposes.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.
SB98,,44The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows: SB98,15Section 1. 5.056 of the statutes is amended to read: SB98,,665.056 Matching program with secretary of transportation. The commission administrator shall enter into the agreement with the secretary of transportation specified under s. 85.61 (1) to match personally identifiable information on the official registration list maintained by the commission under s. 6.36 (1) and the information specified in s. 6.34 (2m) with personally identifiable information maintained by the department of transportation. The agreement shall require the department of transportation to provide the commission access to personally identifiable information maintained by the department of transportation in order to verify that individuals on the official registration list are U.S. citizens. The commission shall immediately verify the information on the list whenever an individual registers to vote or modifies his or her registration. SB98,27Section 2. 343.17 (3) (a) 16. of the statutes is created to read: SB98,,88343.17 (3) (a) 16. If the person is not a U.S. citizen, the legend “Not valid for voting purposes” or another readily recognizable indication that the license may not be accepted for voter identification purposes. SB98,39Section 3. Nonstatutory provisions. SB98,,1010(1) Citizenship verification. The elections commission shall verify the citizenship of all electors on the official registration list as soon as practicable after the effective date of this subsection using the information provided by the department of transportation under s. 5.056. SB98,411Section 4. Initial applicability. SB98,,1212(1) The treatment of s. 343.17 (3) (a) 16. first applies to operator’s licenses and identification cards issued by the department of transportation on the effective date of this subsection.
