Nearly a decade ago, Wisconsin traded its designation as one of the easiest places to cast ballots for stricter voting rules that set off a still-ongoing debate over voter access.
The implementation of a state law that requires voters to show photo identification increased ballot security, Republican authors argue, but the side effects have disproportionately hit Black voters in Milwaukee who are more likely not to have a photo ID and less inclined to seek one than their white peers, experts and advocates say.
“You don’t realize the effect it has on you until it happens to you,” Anita Johnson, who has spent the last eight years helping Milwaukee voters navigate the state’s voter ID law, said in an interview. “And then you’re like, ‘Do I want to go through this? I mean, is this really worth it?’ It really stops people from voting.”