There are some good points in this discussion, but there is one big error that has been mentioned several times. If you register to vote BEFORE 20 days before any election, you don't need to show proof of residency; you just complete the paperwork and you sign a statement that says that the information above is true, etc.

I will say though that voting at a more local level - instead of at a county level - there is a better chance that one of the election inspectors or someone in the room knows the voter, leading to less fraud.

Having 2 elections in a year would be great - IF we didn't have partisan and non-partisan elections. Electors don't understand the primary for the partisan elections now - there is always the question similar to "When did we start this?" Only since the 1800's ;-)

I do wish more people would vote in EVERY election! It is such a simple and non-time consuming event that I don't understand. In the spring, you most likely know or can personally talk to candidates about how your taxes are budgeted/spent or other issues that affect your quality of life, yet everyone is apathetic about spring elections.

JUST VOTE! EVERY ELECTION.

Voter REGISTRATION requires proof of residency in Wisconsin. There is no mass registration of dead people. Even if there were, someone would also have to cast a vote (commit a felony) for it to matter. It just doesn't happen enough to make a statistical difference. As insightfulone points out, the most common error is someone voting twice using their own name, in person and absentee. A Photo I.D. cannot prevent that double voting from happening.

The amount of fraud DOES absolutely matter. We're talking about our most basic freedom. If you disenfranchise .1% of the voters to stop .001% of fraud, that's a problem. Your photo I.D. cure is worse than the disease. By your logic, we should just increase our police force x100, to prevent all murders.

Where is your proof that voter fraud is a problem? Lets crunch some numbers. Say there are 30,000 eligible voters living in Janesville. A 15% turnout would mean 4,500 people vote.
To have a 10% vote error, 450 would have to commit a felony and not get caught.
A .1% vote error requires 45 people to commit a felony and not get caught.
A .01% vote error would require 4 or 5 people commit a felony and not get caught.
What is the most likely scenario? Even a .1% error (45 people not getting caught!) is unlikely to decide an election.

Voting by photo I.D. is a solution looking for a problem. What's the solution? Encourage more citizens to vote! Of course, Republicans don't like that solution because they are outnumbered.

I'm gonna hold-out until ACORN offers ME some cash for my vote.

Wisconsin needs to make some changes in their elections. But Voter ID and Same Day Registration don't need it.

1) Reduce the number of elections held each year. There shouldn't be more than 2 elections. A Primary and a General is all that should be needed. The Primary should be held either in the Spring or when the regular Primary is held. Personally, I believe that Primaries should be held in the Spring to provide time for candidates to be vetted.

2) With only two elections in a year there would be fewer forms needed because they are election specific.

3) Except for School Boards all offices should be partisan and require a Primary and General election.

4) Election Boards should be centralized in each county. Administration by each township or city is a waste of resources. In some counties like Rock County a sub office could be set up.

5) Alderpersons should not be elected at-large. They should be elected to serve the district/ward that they live. At-large Alderpersons does not provide true representation of the residents when 2 or more could be elected from the same ward.

6) Mayors should be the form of municipal executive. And an office as critical as this should not be appointed by the Alderpersons as in the case of municipals that use the City Manager form of government. The executive should not be accountable to the Alderpersons. They should be held accountable to the voters of that municipality.

the last time I voted I walked up to the table and said my name. I received my ballot with no questions asked. ANYBODY that made it to the voting site before me and gave my name would have been able to cast my vote. There is little risk for them to be caught since no identification is asked for.
Janesvillecomments also makes a good point about organized registering of dead people. If you ask for an ID this practice would not work.
Voter fraud does happen. It doesn't matter if its a 0.1% issue or a 10% issue. It's still a problem and to ignore the issue is sheer stupidity.
As for the Democratic nonsense about how asking for ID will adversily affect the poor...gimme a break. You get asked for your ID to write a check, cash a check, buy some over-the-counter medications, buy adult rated video games, filling out paperwork at a new job....I am sure there are plenty of other times. Asking for a photo ID is not obtrusive and should be mandated to cast a ballot.

I do work with the elections and I have to say, there have been one or two that have been "caught" voting twice. Usually it's where they vote at the polls and then vote absentee somewhere else. Perhaps going to school or have moved. The usual excuse is, they didn't know if their absentee ballot was counted. I can assure everyone, they are counted and you will be caught. Could be a year later (unfortunately) but it does kick out of the system and charges have been brought to these people.

What a silly analogy. A criminal might find something of VALUE in your car, and the crime is a misdemeanor. What value does a vote provide the criminal, when voting fraud is a felony?

How easily does someone cast YOUR vote (your original question) if you actually vote? Or don't you bother to vote?

A person has to provide proof of residency in Wisconsin to register to vote, but a photo I.D. is not required. There are many disabled people and seniors over 65 who don't have a photo I.D. A person can currently vote absentee if they are not able to make it to the polls on election day, so anyone without a photo I.D. would automatically have to vote absentee. That's not freedom. Requiring a photo I.D. to vote would make it harder for many registered people to vote, instead of preventing nonexistant voter fraud.

Zoom, If I take your "it has never happened to me" philisophy to heart, I shouldn't have to lock my car doors. After all, nobody has ever stolen anything out of my car and stealing is against the law. However, I DO lock my car door and will continue to lock my car doors. Why? Because I have the common sense to realize that theft COULD happen. Therefore, I take the sensible precautions. Why can't voting officials also take reasonable action to ENSURE voting accountability?

Asking for an ID to vote is fast and easy and should be a no-brainer.

Get ACORN on this one. I am sure they would get the percentage up.

Voter fraud is usually done "Chicago Style", registering names from the cemeteries to avoid double-votes at the precincts.

Last election, I tried voting for "Realitybytes", but I couldn't get anyone in any of 5 different wards to find the name on the voter list. Then I remembered the technology level I was dealing with - they were all looking for "Realitybites" on the printouts. ☺

When I vote, they cross my name off the list so someone else can't take my vote. If I vote, and my name is already crossed off, then I know there has been a mistake. In all my years of voting, that has never happened. The chances of someone "taking" your vote is almost zero if you actually take the time to vote yourself.

Voter fraud is a felony, and hugely overblown. What incentive is there for someone to actually commit a felony this way? None.

Are election officials going to start checking photo IDs or is anybody going to be able to cast MY vote?

For me a billboard ad usually is a good reminder. Maybe a billboard or two will catch peoples attention that day as they are out on the road already. And no I don't work for a billboard advertiser :)