Wisconsin DOT to issue voting credentials overnight during election week

MADISON — The state Department of Transportation plans to ship voting credentials overnight to people who try to obtain photo identification during election week.

The DOT offers free IDs for voting. People without proper documentation to obtain an ID can petition the agency for one. Anyone who enters the petition process gets a credential to vote through the mail, which can take days to arrive.

State Elections Commission member Ann Jacobs raised questions Tuesday about how people who file a petition on Election Day will get credentials in time to have their votes count.

People without credentials can cast provisional ballots but must verify their identity within the next three days. Since credentials likely wouldn't arrive until the following week, their ballot would be invalidated.

DOT announced the overnight shipping Tuesday evening.