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Proof of residency needed to vote ?

Johnny Bravo

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2012
Messages
12
Location
Wi
Do you need proof of residency to be able to vote, even if you are registered to vote ?

I went to vote today & was asked for ID, told them the ID law was blocked, they said it was for proof of residency. I am registered to vote & everything is current, I even looked it up. I've been living where I'm at for some time now so I"m not new to the area or anything & they know who we are and all that, it's a small township and not very many people around here. Every other time I went to vote I never had to show anything, though I did take my ID last time because of the voter ID law, they said I didn't need it, but they looked at it anyways.

I tried to look to see if I could find anything about needing proof of residency to vote, only thing I found was that you need proof of residency to register to vote. So unless I"m not looking in the right place or it's some law that they never enforced before.

I don't know if anyone else is being asked for proof of residency before they let you vote. I can't help to think that they're trying to give us a hard time because last time we went to vote I was carrying, the building was not posted.

Needless to say we went home without voting.
 

protias

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
7,308
Location
SE, WI
Nope, you don't have to show ID. What you need to do is contact the GAB at 1-866-VOTE-WIS. I am trying to find the contact information for the WI GOP camp, but I don't remember what Vicki McKenna said.
 

Johnny Bravo

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2012
Messages
12
Location
Wi
The GAB website is where I did most of my looking.

After asking for ID, they went on to ask if we had mail that had our name and address on, then if we had insurance in the car as for proof. So I don't think they were after the ID, just any of the legally useable papers for proof residency, well at least the other two that they said we could use.

I should also add, they gave no reason why we needed proof of residency. They didn't even ask or confirm our names, first thing they asked for was ID, then for mail or insurance in place of ID, for the proof of residency.
 
Last edited:

protias

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
7,308
Location
SE, WI
Contact one of the GOP Victory Centers. They'll probably have the right number to call to let them know. Then go back to the polling place, tell them your name and address since that is all that is required. If they still don't, call the police.
 

Johnny Bravo

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2012
Messages
12
Location
Wi
Got a hold of them and they gave us another number to call, but got disconnected when they went to look something up. Didn't sound like there was much they could do anyways.

Gave the GAB a call, they seemed to have more interest. Said that they would make a call to the county & it would trickle down to where we went to vote to see what the problem is and give us a call back when they find out.
 

Johnny Bravo

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2012
Messages
12
Location
Wi
As it turns out they say my mom gave the wrong name, though I don't recall us giving our names, I'm positive that I didn't give my name. I told her it wouldn't have mattered anyways after we got home, because she did have a name change so she would have had to register again before voting.

On the other hand, not a thing change with me, so still clueless as to why I had to show proof of residency if I wanted to vote. I don't know if they just assumed that I had my name changed for some reason too. Figured I'd stop by some time to see if they're posted, if so I think that would give me my answer.
 

E6chevron

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2011
Messages
528
Location
Milwaukee Wisconsin
If you are registered, you are supposed to give your name and full address.

If your mother gave the name she was registered under, there should have been no problem. You should have been asked for your name and address, and if you gave a name and address that matched what was on the voter registration list, you should have been given a ballot.

I am very disappointed that you were denied your right to vote. If your mother had one of the forms of identification of a resident, she should have been allowed to register and get a ballot as well.
 
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