Thinking of voting early to avoid the rush on April 5? Green Bay's Sen. Dave Hansen warns that the method of printing license makes it difficult to produce an acceptable copy for voting purposes.

MADISON - State Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) warned absentee voters today that photocopying your driver’s license to send along with your absentee ballot may not work and might not be accepted.

“The way in which the driver’s license is produced makes it nearly impossible to photocopy. If the photo and information on the license are not discernible your vote won’t be counted,” said Senator Hansen.

A call from a constituent who was unable to copy their driver’s license to send in with their absentee ballot led Hansen to a call the Government Accountability Board which revealed that they have received many calls from absentee voters expressing similar concerns.

Unfortunately this is not an uncommon problem and it could lead to people’s votes not being counted or people getting frustrated and deciding not to vote. Fortunately, there are two known ways to make sure your absentee vote counts:

1. If possible go to your clerk’s office and vote absentee in person. You can vote in person between now and April 1st.

2. Take a photo of your driver’s license and include the photo with your absentee ballot.

“This is yet another example of the deliberate confusion behind the GOP effort to suppress the votes of those who oppose them or who are interested in voting for certain candidates in the GOP presidential primary,” says Hansen.

There is currently no concerted effort by the Legislature or administration to educate people on the new rules in place as a result of the Voter ID law.

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Legislative writer Jay Wadd contributed to this story.