Voter ID referendum kickoff meeting set

Wauwatosa residents interested in seeing the city hold an advisory referendum about whether voters statewide should be required to show their ID can attend a meeting led by Alderwoman Jacqueline Jay at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Wauwatosa Public Library's Firefly Room.

During the organizational meeting, residents will determine whether to shoot for getting a question on the April 2010 ballot, which would require gathering more than 3,600 signatures by the end of December. As an advisory referendum, the outcome would not be binding but would send a message to state officials, Jay said.

Jay is looking for assistance soliciting all those signatures.

In July, Jay brought up the idea of holding an advisory referendum on whether voters should show their IDs at the polls, and the city attorney drafted a question to pose to voters. But the council's vote was tied, and Mayor Jill Didier, who serves as tie-breaker, decided not to pursue the issue.

Instead, it was left to Wauwatosa residents to determine if they feel strongly enough about the issue to initiate a referendum.