Alfonzo’s Voter ID Story

Shortly after his 18th birthday, Alfonzo went to a voter registration event at his Madison, Wisconsin high school and met VoteRiders’ National Campaign Coordinator. He was looking forward to voting for the first time, but did not have a valid photo ID. Traveling to the DMV to obtain his voter ID would likely be unproductive: Alfonzo would have to take three buses to get to the DMV office, which closes at 4:30pm — not long after his last class.

“Not every black family grows up with cars. My stepdad has a car, but he’s gone 24-7 at work.”

VoteRiders’ organizer offered Alfonzo a ride to the DMV and carefully reviewed the list of documents he needed to bring, including his proof of residence, birth certificate and change of name documents from when he was adopted. Although Alfonzo missed one appointment and needed several days of nagging on Facebook and SMS, we finally got him to the DMV, where he secured his free non-driver’s ID and assured us he would vote.

For more on Alfonzo’s story, see this article in the Isthmus: http://isthmus.com/news/snapshot/dmv-road-trip-voter-id-registration/