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Yes.

Wisconsin requires proof of identification to vote. 

Republicans in the Legislature put a referendum on the April 1 ballot to add the requirement to the state constitution. State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, said the amendment makes it “harder to vote” than to buy a gun.

In Wisconsin, federally licensed gun dealers are required to do background checks on gun purchasers, but other sellers, such as individuals selling privately or at gun shows, are not.

According to a 2015 national survey of gun owners, 22% who made their most recent purchase within two years said they did so without a background check; the figure was 57% among gun owners in states such as Wisconsin that didn’t regulate private gun sales.

It’s the latest national survey, said Johns Hopkins University gun policy expert Daniel Webster.

On voter ID, a University of Wisconsin-Madison study estimated Wisconsin’s law prevented 4,000-11,000 Milwaukee and Dane county residents from voting in the 2016 presidential election.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Wisconsin Elections Commission: If you have one of these photo IDs, you are ready to vote!
• Wisconsin Legislative Council: 2011 Wisconsin Act 23
• University of Wisconsin-Madison: Wisconsin’s voter ID controversy: what you need to know
• Wisconsin State Legislature: Senate Joint Resolution 2
• Wisconsin State Legislature: Enrolled Joint Resolution — referendum question
• WisconsinEye: Sen. Kelda Roys remarks
• Wisconsin Legislative Council: Firearm Regulation in Wisconsin
• Giffords Law Center: Background Check Procedures in Wisconsin
• NRA: Wisconsin Gun Laws
• Election Law Journal: Voter Identification and Nonvoting in Wisconsin—Evidence from the 2016 Election
• University of California, Berkeley: Voter ID Laws: What Do We Know So Far?
• Annals of Internal Medicine: Firearm Acquisition Without Background Checks: Results of a National Survey

In Wisconsin, do you need more proof of ID to vote than to buy a gun? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.