The Wisconsin GOP and conservative outside groups just keep adding to their repertoire of ways to disenfranchise voters who aren’t surefire Republicans, namely the elderly, minorities, students, and low-income voters. They’ve run the gamut from photo ID requirements to robo-calls to gutting Wisconsin’s public-financing system for elections, but a new strategy has emerged: rigging the hours of operation at the DMV to favor locations in Republican-leaning areas.
As reported by the Associated Press,
One Democratic lawmaker said Friday it appeared the decisions were based on politics, with the department targeting offices for closure in Democratic areas and expanding hours for those in Republican districts.
A high-ranking DOT official rejected that claim, saying the changes were based on economics, not politics.
Rep. Andy Jorgensen, D-Fort Atkinson, called on the state Department of Transportation to reconsider its plants to close the Fort Atkinson DMV center. The department plans to expand by four hours a week the hours of a center about 30 minutes away in Watertown.
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Starting next year, voters must present a valid driver's license or other acceptable photo identification in order to vote. Critics of that new requirement have said it would be unconstitutional if courts determined voters couldn't easily access DMV centers where they can obtain the ID cards required in order to vote.
It’s telling that the extreme Right-Wing thinks that the path to winning elections is to prevent people from voting. This brings their Voter-ID campaign to a new low.