Why is this Information Not Offered?

[paft.livejournal.com]

Back in July, I posted a video a woman took while trying to get her son a voting ID in Wisconsin. At the time what I emphasized was the fact that the DMV apparently considered “bank activity” a requirement for voting. But there was more to the conversation. Given information that’s recently linked about about DMV employees being instructed NOT to offer certain information, it’s worth seeing again. The pertinent part of the conversation begins at about the 4.30 mark:

Woman: If someone were to just say thet needed a state ID card, would they know it was free, if it was for voting?

Man at DMV: Uhhh, unless they tell us it was for voting, we charge ‘em. Cause it’s….

Woman: Why is that, because with the new law, the Voter ID bill…

Man at DMV: It’s going to discourage them.

Woman: They’re…It’s supposed to be free.

Man at DMV: If it’s for…

Woman: So why wouldn’t you tell them that, right from the start, “Voter ID is free.”

Man at DMV: They’re the same card, so, unless you come in and specifically request it, we charge you for it. Like, let’s say you’re 20 and you’re going on a trip. You may not vote, so we’re still going to charge them for that card.

Woman: But would you ask them? Would you say “is this for voting, or…

Man at DMV: If they check the box, so…um, it’s, you know, one of them where… They shouldn’t even be doing any of it, but it’s one of them where they wanted to make this law, and now it’s going to affect a lot of people, so if it’s for voting, we do it for free, but we don’t know that they’re going to use it for voting.

Woman: Why don’t you have that as a, you know, I would like to ask your supervisor, why don’t you ask people, “Is this for voting? Is this ID for voting or is it for something else?”

Man at DMV: They put it on here and that satisifies the state statute so, um you know I can’t really answer that question.

Woman: I would like to ask your supervisor that question.

Man at DMV: Okay, I’ll go get him...

Supervisor: They need to ask for it. It’s something that is available but they should ask for it.

Woman: But why not ask them, “Is this a voter ID card or a regular ID card?”

Supervisor: Because… the, the, pol… (seems at a loss)

Woman: I mean, have you been given instructions?

Supervisor: Yeah, the problem, the instruction is that if someone comes in and says “I need an ID card to go and vote,” that it’s free. If it is an original issuance or a renewal. But if someone comes in and they’ve lost their ID, it’s not within its renewal period and they need a replacement, then we have to charge for it. So a replacement, a duplicate...

Woman: But couldn’t you ask them, “Is this a renewal or a replacement or is this for a Voter ID?"

Supervisor: Our instruction is to let them ask.

Woman: And so who gave you that direction?

Supervisor: Well, it’s from the powers-that-be.

Woman: Who would that be?

Supervisor: Well, that would be, the next step in my chain of command would be Tracy Howard…

In fact, it was recently revealed that the instructions came from a top Department of Transportation official Steve Kreaiser:

While you should certainly help customers who come in asking for a free ID to check the appropriate box, you should refrain from offering the free version to customers who do not ask for it.

If the DMV officials in the video seem a wee bit ambivalent to you, it’s probably not your imagination. Recently a Wisconsin state employee was fired for sending out an email calling people so spread the word about the free IDs.

An interview with the employee can be heard here.

Whether or not the employee was wise to do what he did, this raises questions about the motives behind this voter ID law. Why would specific instructions go out for DMV officials not to offer information that would prevent applicants from essentially paying for the right to vote?

Crossposted from Thoughtcrimes

Comments

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

I don't live in WI, I live in NJ. At the NJ DMV there are posters and fact sheets and regulation books everywhere. There is also a very comprehensive NJDMV website. The requirements, fees and uses of the various services and products are plainly and repeatedly posted and easily found. For the less literate among us there is also a help desk staffed by an retired NJ State trooper with a buzz cut and a jutting chin who can direct you to the right line, window, teller and form. Se habla Espanol!

Maybe that isn't the case in WI. Maybe the DMV in that barren, snow covered cowpatch is shrouded in arcane mysteries and vague quasi-masonic rituals designed to befuddle the unworthy and sift the wheat from the chaff. But I doubt it. From what I can tell from the evidence presented is that if you go into a WI DMV and ask for what you want, you get it. If you ask for what you don't want, you get that too, since WI DMV employees may be many things but they are not clairvoyant.

[paft.livejournal.com]

So why specifically tell people at the DMV not to ask "is this for voter id?"

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

Why specifically tell people at the DMV to ask, "is this for voter ID?"

If I went into DMV and asked for a non-driver ID and was then treated to a quiz from some patronizing functionary about what I really wanted, like I was some 5 year old child, I might well be offended.

"Did I say I wanted a voter ID? Did I??"

[paft.livejournal.com]

pc: Why specifically tell people at the DMV to ask, "is this for voter ID?"

Because otherwise people are likely to end up paying for the ability to cast a ballot.

pr: If I went into DMV and asked for a non-driver ID and was then treated to a quiz from some patronizing functionary about what I really wanted, like I was some 5 year old child, I might well be offended.

I doubt most people would consider the simple question "is this for voter ID?" a confusing and patronizing quiz. I work with people on a daily basis and ask simple questions like that all the time. Nobody has ever been offended by them.

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

Because otherwise people are likely to end up paying for the ability to cast a ballot.

Not due to any fault of the government, as far as I can see. Perhaps due to their own carelessness, but not because it is mandated or sought by anyone.

a confusing and patronizing quiz

I didn't say confusing. I said patronizing. And it would be patronizing, whether I was offended or not, because it would be assuming that I did not understand the plan instructions given to me in numerous ways by the DMV in both written and digital form. It would be another demonstration that the DMV thought it knew better than I did what I wanted and what was best for me.

[paft.livejournal.com]

paft: Because otherwise people are likely to end up paying for the ability to cast a ballot.
P: Not due to any fault of the government, as far as I can see. Perhaps due to their own carelessness, but not because it is mandated or sought by anyone.

When the government makes an effort to conceal a service from people, yes, people not availing themselves of it is the fault of the government.

P: I said patronizing. And it would be patronizing, whether I was offended or not, because it would be assuming that I did not understand the plan instructions given to me in numerous ways by the DMV in both written and digital form. It would be another demonstration that the DMV thought it knew better than I did what I wanted and what was best for me.

Bullshit, and that's putting it politely.

I used to work in retail. One of the bookstores where I worked had the return policy prominently posted where everyone could read it. That did not prevent us from always telling people who returned an item that they could choose between a cash refund or a store credit and pointing out that easily overlooked little box on the form that would get them the cash refund rather than the credit. I don't remember a single customer ever taking offense at such a question, even though the choice was literally written in large letters on the wall behind me and on their paperwork.

Currently, I manage short term rentals in a downtown San Francisco building. Though I always pass on to people a written list of what we offer as services during a short-term rental, I have yet to hear anyone object when I also verbally explain that they can check the box for a podium mic instead of paying the fee for our more elaborate sound system.