Wisconsin Veteran Irate At Voter ID Law: ‘What The F*ck Did I Go In For?’

[douglas9]

Tuesday was the official launch of Wisconsin’s new Voter-I.D. law, with citizens now required to present a photo-identification card in order to cast a ballot in the primaries for local elections. And as it turns out, one man refused to vote, because he was so angry that his card from the Department of Veterans Affairs was not on the approved list.

As the Racine Journal Times reported, 69-year old veteran Gil Paar was shocked when poll workers told him his photo I.D. from the V.A. wasn’t on the accepted list. They then asked him if he had a driver’s license — which he did — but he instead refused to show it and left the precinct. “Basically I was trying to make a point,” Paar told the paper. “I gave them four years of my life, why shouldn’t I be able to use my vet’s card?”

As the paper reports, the state election officials explain that the way the law was written, a military-related I.D. must be issued by a uniform service — which does not include the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bottom line: For whatever the reason might be, whether intentional or an accident, V.A. cards were not included on the list.

Paar, who described himself to TPM as an “Irish Catholic liberal Democrat” who has donated to President Obama, told us that he too was very surprised at this development.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/wisconsin_veteran_irate_at_voter_id_law_what_the_fck_did_i_go_in_for.php

[woodsprite]

1. I understand wanting to make a point, but who did

he hurt by not voting? The repubs are the ones to blame
for the changes, right? So unless he was a liberal Dem who
was going to vote Repub, then didn't they just win by him not
carrying through with voting?

[nenagh]

3. 'The way the law was written, military related ID must be issued by a uniform service.'

I don't understand..what does 'issued by a uniform service' really mean?

Obviously I'm not in the military ... Or at age 67 I'm just confused...

Anyway, that is just plain wrong the way the law is written if a veteran can't use his photo ID from the VA...

And because it is wrong, I want to understand, thanks...

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. uniform service?

In this case, a branch of the Armed Forces

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Blackwater, Xe.

I don't know if a Merchant Marine ID would count.



(ok, just kidding about Blackwater and Xe)

[nenagh]

6. Many thanks...there is so much I don't understand..

So the law seems to exclude veterans, using a government supplied ID, I assume one does not have to pay for VA ID...

That just seems so wrong to me... And I find it hard to think it was just an oversight...

Many thanks for your reply.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. I don't know about V.A. ID, I'm not in the system

I'm sure the ID is free, but so is a state-issued ID card (as opposed to a driver license).

There are a few requirements to get into the V.A. health system. First (of course) you have to be a veteran, having served for some length of time which varies depending on peacetime or wartime, and depending on reason for discharge. Then, income has to be below a certain threshold. And, assets have to be below some amount, though this is somewhat vague.

Excluding the V.A. ID from eligibility was probably an oversight, as you say. And, having it refused was just ignorance on the part of the polling staff. But walking away from the polling place when you have acceptable state ID in your wallet, that's just being overly sensitive. Most vets I know have thicker skin.

This Bozo's service: US Army, '66-'68

[mariema]

8. It's not ignorance on the part of the polling staff

I had almost the exact same situation happen at our polling place where I am the chief inspector. I knew the guy and when he handed me the VA card I had no choice but to tell him it wasn’t an acceptable form of ID according to WI state law. He said he was informed at a meeting he attended that all that was required was a photo ID. I showed him a handout that listed the acceptable IDs for voting purposes and it says Military ID cards must be issued by a U.S. uniformed service. I even showed him a picture of all the IDs I could accept. He continued to argue and got quite upset so I offered him a provisional ballot, which he refused and said the VA card should be good enough, that he served his country and the US government gave him the VA card so I should accept it. I apologized and said I couldn’t. I tried to explain that I couldn’t do anything but follow the rules as the state issued them and my job was to enforce the rules so I would be committing a crime if I knowingly allowed him to vote using an invalid ID. He continued to berate me, loudly, saying he was going to call our congressman and he was going to make some calls to the state to complain about me. Then he tossed me his WI driver’s license, which was valid and current. I gave him a ballot, he voted and left.

Now as I said, I know the man, I know he is a veteran and he has voted here for decades. But it doesn’t make any difference; I couldn’t let him use the VA card as ID for voting purposes. Some people might think I should have given him a break and let him vote anyway. I can’t do that. I am in charge and if I don’t strictly follow the law it could jeopardize the validity of our entire polling place.

My husband is also a veteran and is retired from the military. If he came to vote and handed me a VA card I would not be able to let him vote either. But he would never have done what the man at my polling place did. My husband would have said “I’m sorry, I was misinformed, I thought this was acceptable. Here is my driver’s license.” He would never have berated a poll worker or thought he deserved special treatment because he is a veteran. And he wouldn’t have expected me to commit a felony by letting him use the wrong ID to vote.

When I am working as a poll worker I am entirely neutral about the voter ID law. At some time in the future they may change the law to allow VA cards, which makes no difference to me. My job is to ensure that the polling place runs smoothly so all voters can vote, that all valid IDs are accepted and that the state voting statutes are upheld.

When I’m not a poll worker I think the law sucks.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

10. True. It was ignorance on This Bozo's part

I finally rummaged around the web site describing suitable ID, and it was clear on the invalidity of V.A. ID.

So, this was not the fault of poll workers. The poll workers were obviously better informed than the vet who walked out, and better informed than me .

And, by the way, thanks for working the polls. From my view as a voter, that looks like a long day of focusing on paper.

[douglas9]

5. U.S. Uniformed Services (Accepted Voter Identification)

>snip<

Military Veterans:

Veteran IDs are not acceptable forms of Photo
IDs for voting purposes. Veterans must provide
another form of identification.

http://gab.wi.gov/node/2049

(for link to PDF file)

[mariema]

9. Thanks for the link

I knew I had seen this as part of a training booklet but I hadn't seen the PDF. I just printed it and will have it handy for the April primary.