• Wisconsin Government Accountability Board says safegaurds are in place.
• Wisconsin has second highest voter turnout.
• Milwaukee has history of unaccounted votes.
• Legislation to require voter IDs vetoed three times.

As the Supreme Court juggles an Indiana law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, confidence in Wisconsin's system of voter ID has been questioned.

Registered Wisconsin voters will not need to show any form of identification when they show up to vote in the Wisconsin primary on Feb. 19.

Kyle Richmond, public information officer for the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, said several layers of election securities are in place. Pre-election, Election Day and post-election safeguards have proven to provide safety for Wisconsin voters.

"We are all responsible for making (the process) transparent and unbiased," Richmond said.

Richmond said there are a lot of hands involved in the election administration process. This year more than 1,850 clerks and other election staff have been trained to reinforce accuracy, he said.

"We do have securities in place," Richmond said. "But we have to balance that with the convenience and people's ability to participate easily in the process." Richmond said he does not think there is a great threat of voter fraud at the polls because of the numerous registration options available to Wisconsin voters.

To register, voters must show a Wisconsin-issued driver's license number. If they do not have a driver's license, they may provide a Wisconsin state ID card number or the last four digits of their social security number. Voters can register by mail 20 days prior to the election or on the day of the election at the polls.

Richmond said the Wisconsin system does have security measures, but also encourages people to vote.

"We are very proud of voter turnout numbers," Richmond said.

Wisconsin ranked second behind Minnesota in the November 2004 presidential elections with a voter turnout of 76.6 percent. Hawaii came in last with 50.8 percent of citizens voting. Indiana had 58.6 percent of citizens vote, according to the Census Bureau.

But the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel conducted an investigation into voter turnout after the 2004 election. It discovered the number of votes cast in Milwaukee County was higher than the number of voters registered, and that around 4,600 votes were unaccounted for.

Richmond attributed these numbers to administrative issues and problems with tabulation machines. He added that the amount of voter fraud in Wisconsin has never been large enough to throw an election.

But in response to the discrepancy, state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) introduced a bill requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, said Mike Pyritz, Stone's legislative aid.

Gov. Jim Doyle has vetoed the bill three times and now the fourth version of Stone's bill is in second consideration after passing the state assembly last spring.

Based upon the previous discrepancies in Milwaukee voter outcome, Pyritz said the current system leads to confusion and uncertainty in results.

"It would ensure the election is one vote, one person," Pyritz said.

Pyritz said requiring voters to show identification at the polls would help increase confidence across the board that the election is accurate.

"We would end up with a system that people trust in and believe in," Pyritz said.

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said a number of things lead to voter fraud, but the most important question is how to deal with it.

"(Requiring voters to show ID at the polls) is the simplest, most all-inclusive way to solve the problem regardless of what the cause of the problem is," Van Hollen said.

Though questions have been raised as to whether requiring ID inhibits the elderly and minorities, traditionally among those who vote Democrat, Van Hollen said he did not see any partisan politics.

"There is no reason to believe that having to show an ID is going to dissuade people from voting for one party or another," he said.

Van Hollen said he has seen bipartisan support for the issue and the state government should do all it can to make sure voters are not disenfranchised.

But Van Hollen spoke of what he called a greater disenfranchisement.

"Voters think their vote doesn't count because others who are not entitled to vote cancel theirs out," he said.