A group representing senior citizens is urging them — and other people — to take advantage of early voting ahead of Wisconsin’s Feb. 16 spring primary election. In-person absentee voting began Monday and ends Feb. 12.
Nino Amato of the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups said he worries the state’s newly-enforced voter ID law will surprise some seniors who try to vote early, but are told by an election clerk that they don’t have a state approved photo identification.
“Then under the law, they would have to cast a provisionary ballot and then go to a DMV — and how they get there may be a problem — to get one of the official ID cards,” Amato said.
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He estimates there are 172,000 Wisconsin seniors without a driver’s license.
The Government Accountability Board says some seniors who are indefinitely confined to their home due to age, illness, disability or infirmity, or who live in a nursing home may be exempt from the photo ID law. But voters only have about 10 days to determine that, if they want their vote to count on Feb. 16.
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