Voter ID Laws In Wisconsin Target Latino Voters

In May Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a Republican, signed a voter ID bill requiring voters to show ID when they went to vote. This meant that, without an ID, people could not vote. So the state was obligated to give out free photo IDs to residents in order to avoid a potential poll tax. Now this month the Walker administration told DMV employees not to tell people about the free IDs, and then fired a state employee who brought this to the attention of his co-workers.

The best part is, once it came to light that state officials were kind of encouraging a poll tax, they put up printed out signs in DMVs that the IDs were available — but only in English. No Polish, no Spanish, no Hmong. Just English. Below is a video taken at one DMV in a heavily Latino area of Milwaukee, traditionally the base of Democratic support in the state, where the signs appeared only in English:

Mind you that the Latino vote in Milwaukee does affect the outcome of city council and state legislature races, which is to say, it matters and this type of targeted voter ID law matters. We spoke to Julio Gurrero, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Latino Caucus chair who blamed Governor Walker and Republicans for targeting Latino voters.

“We are already a community affected by low voter turnout, so we are taking on the responsibility to educate people about these new rules. This isn’t just a Latino issue — this affects everyone, including the rural poor. I don’t remember that, in order to be a citizen you had to speak English, it affects our communities in a very negative way.

“It’s almost like you have to question whether or not it’s intention that they are pursuing this path,” Guerrero told News Taco. He also noted in a statement, “Judging by the anti-immigrant legislation they are flirting with, there is no great well of respect for Latinos from Scott Walker Republicans…Jim Crow has come to Wisconsin in the 21st Century.”

You have to remember that these voter ID laws affect primarily lower income, Latino and African-American voters, so when these laws are enacted, it’s pretty well-established who’s going to take the hit. What’s happening in Wisconsin is the same thing that happened in Texas, that, unless we get involved, may continue to happen elsewhere in the country. Any eligible voter, despite race or socioeconomic status, should have the chance to make their voice heard.