Churches teaming up to help voters get IDs now required by law

Three churches are teaming up to make sure nobody is turned away from the polls on the next election day.

The new voter ID law takes effect in January, and this law requires voters to provide a photo ID in order to cast a ballot.

There are some who believe this law could make the number of voters turning up at the polls on election day in Wisconsin drop in 2012, and some churches are now working to make it easier for people to make their voices heard.

Reverend Darryl Williams is spearheading the effort between three Milwaukee churches to make sure no one is cut out of the democratic process.

"We want to make sure that anyone who's eligible to vote doesn't have these barriers, so that they can't vote.

Anyone who's eligible to vote, should vote," Williams said.

In order to get a free voter ID, a Wisconsinite must be 18 by the next election, eligible to vote in Wisconsin, and must not have a valid driver's license.

Getting a voter ID also requires a number of documents, including proof of name, date of birth, state residency verification, U.S. citizenship verification, and a valid social security number.

Pastors are helping people get transportation to the courthouse, to get things like, updated birth certificates and other needed documentation, and then driving them to the DMV, where they leave with their free voter ID in hand.

These pastors are helping those who want to vote avoid a set of hurdles that could stop many of them from making it to the polls.

"If you're frustrated with things that go on, the only way you can resolve them is to vote, and when people run into barriers, it's too easy just to say 'that's okay, my vote doesn't count anyway,'" Warner Jackson with the St. Mark Social Action Group said.

The group that's working to help is made up of St. Mark AME, Metropolitan Missionary Baptist, and New Covenant Missionary Baptist churches.

They'll offer the document help and free rides again on December 6th, from 11:00 to 3:00.