I just got back from voting in the Wisconsin Primary Election. Deciding who to vote for was a very difficult choice, as I was originally an Edwards supporter. However, I noticed something today that has been bothering me. This is an error made in campaign literature distributed by the Obama campaign regarding Same-Day Voter Registration.
*NOTE: This is not a campaign diary, nor is it anti-Obama. It is about a voter registration issue in the Wisconsin Primary Election.
Wisconsin is one of the great states that allows for same-day voter registration. However, one must provide proof of residence at the polling place in order to do so.
I live in a neighborhood heavily populated by college students and young people. Because of this, we have received a lot of campaign literature and door-to-door campaigns from Obama. As late as this morning, I had a knock at my door and an Obama volunteer handed me yet another flier. This flier, like some of the previous ones, had information about voting in today's primary election. Here is the problematic part:
ALL WISCONSIN STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS CAN REGISTER AT THE POLLS ON ELECTION DAY WITH A STUDENT ID OR PROOF OF RESIDENCE
What's wrong with this? A Student/University ID alone is not accepted by polling officials to register, unless the student lives in an official UW-Madison dormitory. UW-Madison ID cards do not have our address on them.
This same error was also in two e-mails I received from the Obama campaign since Monday morning. One such e-mail was addressed from Barack Obama and sent at about 8:00 a.m. yesterday morning. The second e-mail was addressed from Michelle Obama and sent at 7:00 a.m. today. When listing acceptable forms of proof of residence, they include:
a college ID with a photo
I saw this error translate into reality today. When I was at my polling place, there was a young woman trying to register. She had only brought her Student ID, thinking that was all she needed. Ultimately, she was not able to vote. The poll worker told her that she would have to return with an acceptable form of proof of residence, which include: an official WI government-issued ID, drivers license (with current address on it), paycheck, bank statement, current utility bill, real estate tax bill or receipt, etc.
I worry that this young woman's situation may not be unique. Yes, she can return before the polls close tonight if she can find an acceptable form of proof of residence. However, one cannot deny that this is a burden. It is currently below zero (with wind chill), and many students are busy throughout the day with classes and part-time jobs.
When I got home, I called the Obama campaign to tell them about this error. The man I spoke with said that they were aware that it was an error, and that they were telling people who called them that Student IDs were not accepted. When I told him that I had received more incorrect campaign literature just this morning, he said that it was a mistake and should not have happened.
I can't help but be bothered by the fact that they aren't really doing anything to get the word out among students. Perhaps it is too late to do anything. I do wonder when they realized that they made this error though, especially since they were still spreading it as late as this morning.
Maybe this is not actually that big of a deal. Also, please realize I am not suggesting that his campaign materials everywhere contained this error. I only know that those distributed on the UW-Madison campus did. However, I worry because I believe that voting needs to be simple and clear-cut. I know the Obama campaign has put a lot of work into GOTV, and it'd be a shame to end up losing even one vote because of this mix-up.
UPDATE:
First, I want to thank everyone for their recs and comments. Secondly, I just want to reiterate that this diary is in no way meant to be a smear against the Obama campaign. In fact, I voted for Obama today.
Some of you have brought up the possibility that these flyers were from unofficial sources. I do not believe that this is the case. They are full color flyers with all the official logos. At the bottom, it says, "Paid for by Obama for America". They were distributed by student volunteers (some of whom I recognize from our College Democrats club). Those two emails I referred to were from the official Barack Obama Campaign Mailing List.
I believe this error was an honest mix-up. The election law is definitely not the clearest thing in the world. It seems that a college ID would be acceptable under the following two conditions:
1.) If they had address information on them (which UW-Madison IDs do not)
2.) If the student lives in an official UW-Madison dormitory.
As a whole, mainly only freshman live in the official campus dorms. Of course there are some older students as well, but the vast majority are freshman. Many upperclassmen live right near campus, but not in these official UW dorms.
The reason I brought this whole thing up is because voter rights and election law are two issues that are important to me. As I mentioned in the diary, I am not saying that this is going to have an enormous or consequential effect. I just feel that it is a disappointment if even one person ends up not voting because of it.
UPDATE #2:
I am currently close to just deleting this whole diary. Here are some points of clarification:
1.) A Student ID is acceptable to register if you live in an official UW dormitory
2.) There are many other forms of acceptable ID besides a Student ID that could be used, including: drivers license (if it has your current address), utility bill, paycheck, government issued ID, etc.
3.) I agree that this will probably have little to no effect on the total results. I just thought it was something that should be discussed. I am sorry if it wasn't appropriate for this forum.