City Clerk's Office

The City of Madison Clerk’s Office encourages voters to help make sure misconceptions about voter ID do not prevent their friends and neighbors from casting a ballot this November.

Wisconsin’s voter identification law offers an expiration date grace period for 4 types of ID.  The following types of ID are acceptable as long as they expire after the last November election, which was Nov. 6, 2018:

• Wisconsin driver license
• Military ID card
• U.S. passport
• Wisconsin DOT-issued photo ID card

The ID does not need to show a voter’s current address.  Whether the voter’s address is up-to-date with the DMV is not relevant to proving identity at the polls.

The ID does not need to comply with the federal REAL ID Act.  If a Wisconsin driver license/ID has a “not for federal purposes” notation, it is not referring to federal elections.

A driver license or state ID card from a state other than Wisconsin would not be acceptable under Wisconsin’s voter ID law. 

The Dane County Voter ID Coalition offers free help with the state ID application process, and even offers free cab rides to the DMV.  The coalition can be reached at (608) 285-2141.  This is a joint effort of the League of Women Voters of Dane County and NAACP of Dane County.

The following forms of identification can be used for voting purposes, but do not have an expiration date grace period:

• Certificate of naturalization issued within last 2 years
• Unexpired Wisconsin driver license or state ID receipt
• Unexpired ID receipt issued by the Wisconsin DOT through the ID Petition Process
• ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe in Wisconsin, regardless of expiration date
• ID issued by a Wisconsin accredited university or college—must contain issuance date, student signature, and expiration date within 2 years of issuance; if expired, must also provide proof of current enrollment.
• Unexpired ID issued by the Veterans Health Administration
• Citation or notice of intent to revoke or suspend Wisconsin driver license, issued within 60 days of the election

Voters confined to their home due to age or disability do not need to worry about ID if they send the Clerk’s Office a request to be placed on the permanent absentee list. The Clerk’s Office will automatically send them a ballot for every election.  The voter stays on the permanent list for as long as they continue to return a ballot to be counted for each election.  The witness who signs the voter’s absentee envelope certifies that the name and address are correct for that voter.

Voters who are unsure whether their ID will be accepted as voter ID are encouraged to contact the City Clerk’s Office at (608) 266-4601 or voting@cityofmadison.com.