More than 100,000 Wisconsin residents will be getting letters from the
Government Accountability Board asking them to verify their voter
information.

The letters are required by state and federal law under the federal
Help America Vote Act of 2002. The law requires the state to compare
voter information in the Statewide Voter Registration System with
driver license data as a way to find and correct errors, improving the
quality of voter lists.

Letter recipients are being asked to call the Government
Accountability Board because some part of their voter information does
not match information on their driver license or State ID card. It
could be a variation in a name spelling – Bob versus Robert, for
example – or a difference in driver license number caused by a
clerical error.

By contacting the board within 10 days, voters can help ensure their
records are correct – and minimize the chances that their information
might get confused with other voters with similar names or ID numbers.
The process should only take a few minutes.

The board asks voters responding to the letter to have their driver
license or State ID card handy to verify the information on it. Voters
who do not have a driver license or State ID card may be asked for the
last four digits of their Social Security number. This information,
including a voter’s date of birth, is considered confidential, and is
protected under state law.

In these privacy-conscious times, the GAB wants to assure voters that
the letters are legitimate, and not a scam.

“These letters are an essential tool for protecting the accuracy of
the voter lists,” said Kevin J. Kennedy, director and general counsel
of the Government Accountability Board. “While Wisconsin law requires
voters to provide driver license numbers or the last four numbers of
their SSN to register to vote, the law also protects access to that
information. Only local election clerks and GAB staff have accesses to
that private information. Our purpose is to update and correct the
statewide voter list.”

Voters who do not respond to the mailing will not lose their
eligibility to vote, said Nathaniel E. Robinson, elections division
administrator of the Government Accountability Board. But by clearing
up any discrepancies now, voters can save time and avoid possible
delays on Election Day, he said.

The mailing is being sent only to voters who registered between Jan.
1, 2006 and Aug. 6, 2008.

Approximately 85,000 letters are being mailed initially statewide.
Clerks in about 600 municipalities are partnering with the Government
Accountability Board to verify information on another 20,000 voters.
Letters from the board to voters whose information can not be verified
by local clerks will be mailed in early Fall 2009.