Photo ID Bill Vetoed for Third Time

Well, it was Friday.

Bring on the Amendment Process.

I'll have more on this and other developments on my blog later.

For the third time, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle today vetoed a bill that would have required voters to show a photo ID, saying it would have disenfranchised up to 177,000 elderly and poor who do not have driver's licenses or state-issued proof of identity.

"Senate Bill 42 unfairly restricts the right to vote at the expense of far too many of Wisconsin's law-abiding, elderly citizens," Doyle said. "Under this proposal, nearly one-quarter of Wisconsin's elderly population could be disenfranchised. I cannot allow that to happen."

The veto was expected, since a Doyle aide said Tuesday that it would be forthcoming. But Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) said it showed why he and other Republicans will try and amend the Wisconsin Constitution to add a requirement that voters must show a photo ID.

Stone said that changing the constitution would take until 2007, at the earliest, and be like "using a sledgehammer," compared to the relatively simple process of writing a new law with a photo ID requirement to vote.

But Doyle's repeated vetoes left him no other choice, Stone said. He will push for a vote on constitutional amendment this fall.