Judge orders DMV to investigate voter ID incident

Madison — A federal judge on Friday ordered the state to investigate an incident in which a voter received incorrect information on getting an ID from three Division of Motor Vehicle workers, saying the state may have violated an order he issued in July.

U.S. District Judge James Peterson issued Friday's ruling a day after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Nation published articles about what happened to Zack Moore, who was told he couldn't get an ID or temporary voting credentials because he did not have a birth certificate.

"These reports, if true, demonstrate that the state is not in compliance with this court’s injunction order, which requires the state to 'promptly issue a credential valid as a voting ID to any person who enters the IDPP or who has a petition pending,' " he wrote, referring to the ID petition process the state uses for those who have the most trouble getting IDs.

Moore tried to get an ID on Sept. 22, the same day Attorney General Brad Schimel filed court documents claiming DMV staff were trained to ensure people would get IDs or temporary voting credentials within six days, even if they didn't have a birth certificate.

Three DMV employees provided Moore incorrect information, with one saying, “You don’t get anything right away,” and another saying how IDs are handled is “up in the air right now."

The recording was made by Molly McGrath, the national campaign coordinator with VoteRiders, a group opposed to voter ID laws that also helps people get IDs.

In an interview, Gov. Scott Walker said his administration is reviewing the ID process and employee training to make sure state workers are handling it properly.

But the Republican governor also questioned Friday whether VoteRiders had released the full recording from its visit to the DMV. Walker said that there might be important context not included in what was released.

“There was more to it than that. But no matter what, we take the issue seriously,” he said.

McGrath provided the Journal Sentinel with a 10-minute recording of the visit. She said it was the full recording of Moore's visit.

"I've been as transparent about this as possible," she said. "I don't think that's the right answer, to blame the tape."

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McGrath said her group visited 10 DMV stations around Wisconsin. On the other recordings, which have not been released, DMV workers were asked hypothetically about how to help someone get an ID if they didn't have a birth certificate. Their answers were all over the board about how long it would take, according to McGrath.

Wisconsin’s voter ID law requires the state to give people free IDs for voting. In ruling on a lawsuit brought by One Wisconsin Institute and Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund, Peterson in July found the state’s process for providing IDs to people who don’t have birth certificates violates voting rights. To fix it, the state has made changes by saying it would promptly provide temporary voting credentials to anyone who seeks them.

But the recording showed that didn't happen in Moore's case. One employee told Moore, who moved to Wisconsin from Illinois, he couldn't get an ID without a birth certificate. A second worker told him he could get one, but there was no way to know how long it would take.

A third employee then told him it would take six to eight weeks to get an ID without a birth certificate, meaning he might not have it in time for the Nov. 8 election. That employee said he couldn't get temporary voting credentials, which is false.

"I'm wondering who else this has happened to," McGrath said.

Friday's order was unusual because Peterson issued it even though none of the parties in the lawsuit asked him to address the issue, said Rick Hasen, a University of California, Irvine professor who specializes in election law.

"The judge likely recognized the urgency of the situation given the upcoming election and the inevitability that plaintiffs would file something following the Nation’s report from the experience of VoteRiders’ staff trying to obtain ID from the DMV for voting," Hasen said by email.

The judge's order said the DMV must report to him by Oct. 7 what happened with Moore.

DMV spokeswoman Patty Mayers said the agency began investigating the incident even before Peterson issued his order.

"The  report is concerning and is not consistent with DMV protocol," Mayers said in a written statement. "DMV remains committed to working with all eligible voters to ensure they receive free identification, as required for voting."

In addition to the case Peterson is overseeing, there is another challenge to Wisconsin's voter ID law focused on those who have the most trouble getting IDs. That case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and is before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

On Friday, the ACLU filed a brief with the appeals court that included a transcript of Moore's visit to the DMV station in an attempt to overturn or loosen the voter ID law.

Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.