Stepping Right Up!: Democrat WI Senators on why they voted to sack Voter ID

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Democrat WI Senators on why they voted to sack Voter ID

A friend of mine called each and every single state Democrat Senator and asked why they refuse to bring voter ID to the floor.

After hearing what state senate democrats did on the polling vote for the Voter ID Amendment, I decided to give them all a call and ask them why they voted against the polling vote.Here are the answers I got from their staffers. I was unable to talk to
some offices, so I left a message requesting they call me back.

Here are their responses:

Spencer Coggs, Milwaukee
Sen.coggs@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-2500
The reason why he voted against the poll was he is against Voter ID.

Russell Decker, Weston
Sen.decker@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-2502
The reason why he voted against the poll was he is against Voter ID.

Roger Breske, Eland
Sen.breske@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-2509
The person I spoke to did not know why he voted against the poll.
I requested they call me back and let me know why.

Tim Carpenter, Milwaukee
Sen.carpenter@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-8535
Tim does not support a constitutional amendment, he supports it being a law. When I asked if he had written any bills for voter ID the answer was no
Jon Erpenbach, Middleton
Sen.erpenbach@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-6670
He voted no on the poll because he never votes against his party on these types of votes. He is against Voter ID because he thinks the process of showing ID when registering to vote is sufficient.

Dave Hansen, Green Bay
Sen.hansen@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-5670
No answer on phone. Left a message to call me back.

Robert Jauch, Poplar
Sen.jauch@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-3510
The staffer I talked to didn't know why he voted no on the poll. I requested someone call me back and let me know why and his stand on the Voter ID amendment.

Pat Kreitlow, Chippewa Falls
Sen.Kreitlow@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-7511
He voted no on the poll because he was following party lines. Staffer does not know Kreitlow's stand on Voter ID. I requested a call back.

Julie Lassa, Stevens Point
Sen.lassa@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-3123
Staffer I talked to did not know why she voted no on the poll. Staffer also does not know her stand on Voter ID. I requested a call back.

John Lehman, Racine
Sen.Lehman@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-1832
I had a long discussion with Sen. Lehman. He voted against the poll because he follows party lines. When asked about the 66-80% of people that favor voter ID, he said he believes that if they knew more about what would happen if voter id went into affect, they would be against voter id. He also said most democrats are against voter ID. I told him I didn't realize a state senator only represents the party he belongs to, not the entire population he represents. In which he said he represents everyone. He is against a government issued id because he believes it would suppress turnout. When I asked him whether turnout numbers were more important than having an honest election, he said that the system we had in place was adequate for making sure fraud doesn't happen. From the way he talked, he believes that the Help America Vote Act will solve our problems. When asked about Gov. Doyle not following all the HAVA rules, he was unaware of that. I did get him to admit voter fraud does go on, he mentioned the case of the man running against Jeff Plale, but said having voter id is not worth suppressing turnout. He does believe there needs to be something done about someone vouching for another person voting. I told him that people against voter ID say fraud isn't going on because there's no proof of it happening, but when he speaks of suppressed turnout, he has no proof of that, how can he have it both ways? He then tried to speak of laws in Georgia, and I said Georiga's law isn't like Wisconsin's, so he couldn't compare the two. He said he would send me data that would prove Wisconsin's law will cause voter suppression, and I told him I look forward to seeing it.

Mark Miller, Monona
Sen.miller@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-9170
Staffer said he voted no because there was no public hearing on the Voter ID Amendment. I asked if he has requested a public hearing, and his staffer stated he is not on that committee so he will not request a hearing. Staffer told me he is against the Voter ID Amendment.

Jeffrey Plale, South Milwaukee
Sen.plale@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-7505
Left a message on their machine and requested his office call me back.

Fred Risser, Madison
Sen.risser@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-1627
His staffer told me Risser was not in favor of bringing it up. The staffer didn't know his stand on voter ID. Asked for a call back.

Judy Robson, Beloit
Sen.robson@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-2253
Staffer told me she believes it should follow the process of going to a hearing. I asked if Robson has urged Sen. Coggs to bring it a hearing, the answer was no because she is focusing on other items, like Autism. Staffer did not know her stand on the issue, but she has been against it in the past.

Jim Sullivan, Wauwatosa
Sen.Sullivan@legis.wisconsin.gov
(608) 266-2512
Tim does not support a constitutional amendment, he supports it being a law. When I asked if he had written any bills for voter ID the answer was no.