Driver license and ID card receipts are accepted photo ID at the polls

February 17, 2012

People who have a receipt for a Wisconsin driver license or ID card and have not yet received their driver license or ID card in the mail should know that those receipts can be used as photo identification at the polls. Receipts serve as driver licenses and ID cards until the actual cards arrive in the mail – usually less than two weeks. This is important to know because the state legislature recently passed a law that requires people to present a photo ID when voting, and there continues to be some confusion about what is needed when casting a ballot. Wisconsin state driver licenses and ID cards are probably the most common forms of photo ID that can be used to vote, but many forms are acceptable – including driver license and ID card receipts.

Since April 1, 2007, nearly 10 percent of Wisconsin adults have received DMV driver license or ID card receipts to use until their actual product is mailed to them from a central production facility. For more than four years, every adult obtaining an original Wisconsin driver license or ID product has received such a receipt, and for the last year, that receipt has included a photo. During this time, there have been no reports of fraud or abuse associated with the receipts. Later this year, this practice will be expanded so that all Wisconsin driver license or ID customers will receive a receipt at a DMV office and then receive their products through the mail.

More than 25 states already use the same practice of issuing centrally and providing a temporary receipt to customers. With this system, security checks are done prior to issuing the product, further reducing the opportunity for identity theft. DMV is unaware of any security issues associated with the use of receipts.

These receipts are honored by TSA for boarding commercial airliners, and they are legally recognized documents under Wisconsin law for purposes of identification, including voting.

For a complete list of acceptable forms of photo ID for voting, visit the State of Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

For people who don’t have an acceptable photo ID for voting and want one, DMV can issue a photo ID free of charge if they meet the requirements. For more information, visit the WisDOT Web site.