Noncitizen ID Can Be Used To Vote, Says Proposed WI Guidance

Prompted by Rep. Bryan Steil to act, the feckless Wisconsin Elections Commission will meet on Friday to issue guidance clarifying the use of noncitizen IDs at the polls. 

Steil, chairman of the House Administration Committee, which oversees federal election law, sent a letter late last week demanding WEC clarify whether swing state Wisconsin’s Limited Term and Non-Domiciled driver’s licenses and ID cards may be used as proof of residency to register to vote. 

Spoiler Alert: The temporary visitor IDs generally issued to noncitizens can be used to vote, according to proposed guidance from members of the Elections Commission. So anybody could potentially claim to be a U.S. citizen and vote with the ID, with only their word as proof, Elections Commissioner Bob Spindell explained to The Federalist.

Wisconsin law, according to the WEC memo, “mandates that these identifications must be accepted as a proper form of voter identification.”

“However, possessing a valid identification does not necessarily mean the holder of the identification is eligible to vote,” the memo states. 

As the guidance notes, Limited Term and Non-Domiciled ID holders, or “temporary visitors,” generally are not lawful permanent residents — green card holders — or U.S. citizens at the time the IDs are issued. 

Noncitizens are strictly prohibited from voting in U.S. elections, so why would the temporary visitor IDs be cleared for use to vote in elections? 

Spindell tells The Federalist that a cardholder could have become a naturalized citizen after the issuance of the ID. But the individual doesn’t necessarily have to show proof, such as a naturalization certificate, to cast the ballot.

WEC’s proposed guidance lays out a challenge process. If an individual presents a Limited Term or Non-Domiciled ID card, state law demands the election inspector “examine whether the individual’s qualifications to vote should be challenged.” 

“These challenge procedures must be followed in full,” the guidance states.“Clerks or election inspectors cannot deny someone registration, or refuse to permit them to cast a ballot, without following the proper challenge procedures.”

The election official must first place the individual under oath and then ask, “Are you a United States citizen?” 

“If the individual answers that they are not a U.S. citizen, the election inspector shall not issue the ballot, and shall not permit that individual to vote,” the guidance states. 

What if the individual claims to be a U.S. citizen? The individual receives a ballot. The vote can be challenged. In that case, the voter must swear under oath that he is a U.S. citizen and meets all of the other requirements to vote.

‘Contrary to Wisconsin Law’

But what if a temporary visitor ID holder claims to be a U.S. citizen and isn’t? Well, that’s a felony under federal law. But who’s thoroughly checking such claims, particularly in a state where the Democrat-controlled executive branch refuses to avail elections officials of broader data tools to verify citizenship? 

It’s an honor system, a system that Spindell said opens the door to potential voter fraud. In a critical battleground state like Wisconsin, in razor-thin elections, Spindell believes there’s a greater temptation to cheat. He said he’s not worried as much about the noncitizens as he is about the bad actors looking to game the system.

“I don’t trust the U.S. citizens who are pushing for additional votes to get through,” he told The Federalist in an interview Wednesday.

Spindell, one of three Republicans on the six-member Wisconsin Elections Commission (the other three are Democrats), acknowledges the proposed guidance may be confusing to elections clerks. Because the commission is divided along party lines by design, reaching consensus on guidance takes compromise. The leftists on the commission have never been very fond of compromise, just as Wisconsin Democrats have resisted legislative efforts to strengthen voter ID laws. 

Spindell said clear guidance on the noncitizen drivers’ licenses is long overdue. 

“This license has been around for eight years. It’s something that’s not new,” he said. Yet, the troubled Elections Commission — which has on multiple occasions issued guidance in violation of election law — is just getting around to the question a few days before the general election. 

State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, a Milwaukee-area Republican who led state Assembly investigations into the irregularity-plagued 2020 election, has been warning her fellow lawmakers — Republicans and Democrats — about the potential election integrity problem of the driver’s licenses issued to noncitizens. The Republican-controlled legislature last year passed a bill that would have required noncitizen IDs to clearly state that the cards are “not valid for voting purposes” or another recognizable indication. 

Democrat Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the election integrity measure, just as every Democrat in the legislature voted against an upcoming constitutional amendment question that clearly states ONLY citizens are allowed to vote in Wisconsin state and local elections. 

Spindell said he’s going to push for greater clarification on the proposed guidance, which was hammered out by WEC chairwoman Ann Jacobs, a highly partisan Democrat appointee, and former chairman Don Millis, a GOP appointee. Spindell said he wants elections officials to ask temporary visitor ID holders to show proof of U.S. citizenship.

In his letter last week to the Elections Commission, Steil raised concerns about the temporary visitor IDs. Provisions in state law, the congressman wrote, “exist to ensure only permanent residents of Wisconsin can vote in Wisconsin’s elections rather than any temporary visitor.”

“As such, it would appear contrary to Wisconsin law for these IDs to serve as valid proof of residency to register to vote in Wisconsin,” Steil wrote. “Media reports have indicated that your office has failed to give direction on how to handle these applications. Americans deserve confidence in our elections, and clear rules and guidance can help improve that level of confidence. Inaction from your office risks ineligible persons being registered to vote and exposes clerks to undue criticism on an issue that could have been avoided.” 

So now WEC is about to issue guidance. With untold numbers of noncitizens on Wisconsin voter rolls amid an unprecedented wave of illegal immigrants flooding into the United States over the past few years, will the last-minute guidance be enough to stop ineligible voters from eroding Badger State election integrity? 

For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.

Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.