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A Milwaukee County supervisor is objecting to the state Government Accountability Board’s decision to suspend the training of special registration deputies – volunteers who are certified to register voters “in the field” and later submit those registrations to election officials. The leading version of the voter I.D. bill pending in the state Legislature would eliminate the GAB’s authority to train such deputies and de-certify all those trained in the past.

A notice posted on the GAB website says, “Due to the need for board staff to review nomination papers, recall petitions and implement provisions of the voter I.D. bill should it be signed into law, state training for special registration deputies has been suspended until after the May special elections.” The website says GAB will reconsider restarting the training in mid-May.

On Monday, Thomas sent a letter to GAB Director Kevin Kennedy saying, “It seems premature of the GAB to cite the need to implement provisions of the voter I.D. bill as a reason for suspending (deputy) training … I ask the GAB to reconsider its suspension of (deputy) training in order to maximize access to the polls.”

Thomas also calls for “a definite timeline for rescheduling the training rather than leaving the recommencement open-ended.”

In a response, Nathanial Robinson, the GAB elections division administrator, says the agency, which oversees elections in the state, is “not implementing any part of the photo I.D. bill … We are spending a measurable amount of time consulting and collaborating with local election partners about it” and responding to requests for information from Senate and Assembly committees and state Legislators. Robinson says the agency has also testified at hearings.

He adds, “With limited and decreasing resources, we all have to prioritize; we cannot do it all.” The GAB is also engaged in a statewide recount in the recent State Supreme Court race.

According to GAB spokesman Reid Magney, the GAB trains about 1,000 special registration deputies every two years. Municipal clerks are also authorized to train and certify such deputies to work within their municipalities. In Milwaukee, it’s done by the city Election Commission.

Johnny Thomas

Thomas says the decision the stop training registration deputies could impact recall elections expected to begin in July. Petitions have been filed against six Republican state senators and three Democrats. The GAB is still reviewing them; it’s not known yet how many will result in elections.

Like other opponents of the voter I.D. bill, Thomas says it will suppress participation from some segments of the population. “You’re impacting young voters, you’re impacting minorities, and you’re limiting the new numbers of registers,” he says.

The most recent version of the bill, passed by the Assembly Committee on Elections and Campaign Reform on Tuesday, would prevent the GAB from training special registration deputies and de-certify all those who received their certification from the agency.

Thomas says he learned about the suspension of deputy training from a friend who had worked in Milwaukee neighborhoods in past years to register voters.

“If a person can go out and register 100 people a day before an election, that has a big impact,” he said. “It does have an impact to go out in the neighborhoods, help people to register and make them aware of when the dates are.”

In his response, Robinson notes that voters can still register by mail, in municipal clerks’ offices or at their polling location on Election Day. He adds that the GAB will also offer “an online option” by mid-June.

The bill, like previous versions, requires voters to present photo I.D.’s at a polling location prior to voting. Its Republican supporters say it’s needed to prevent voter fraud. The most recent version would instruct the state Department of Transportation to provide free I.D.’s that can be used at polls.

College I.D.’s would also be allowed, but only if they list the student’s address. Democrats and the GAB have objected to this requirement, saying it’s unfeasible since most student I.D.’s don’t list an address.

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