Govt. Accountability Board says clerks must check voter rolls

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Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Justice Department say the feel vindicated by Tuesday’s decision to double-check new voter identities over the last three years.

The Government Accountability Board voted to make local clerks confirm the personal data of everyone who registered since the start of 2006.

The panel told the clerks to wait until it creates guidelines, so everybody does the job the same way throughout the state.

The board first told clerks it only had to double-check the identities of those who registered since early August, when a database that links voter information to their other public records went online.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen sued the board, saying the federal law required the checks to start in 2006 in order to fight fraud.

Democrats and others said Van Hollen and others were just trying to discourage folks from voting.

A Madison judge rejected his lawsuit late last month.

Van Hollen has since appealed. Spokesman Kevin St. John says Van Hollen will not drop the appeal until the identity checks are finished.

Two county clerks asked the board to wait until after next spring’s elections to require the data-checks. The panel did not take up that request.

Tags: wisconsin news, voter, identity, check