Like many people, John Wolfe and Rita Platt of Osceola had the day off from work on Friday, Nov. 23. They decided to make the 45-minute trip to to obtain their driver licenses or at least an ID card needed to vote in upcoming Wisconsin elections. They left with neither, according to blogger Heidi Herron .

A WI Voices blog post tells their story. Wolfe and Platt went to the DMV with the out-of-state driver licenses they have been using since moving to Wisconsin 18 months ago. The DMV clerk told them that a certified birth certificate or a passport was needed for identification purposes, and that a social security card or pay stub would not suffice. If that weren't frustrating enough, the DMV's computer system was down at the time, which further complicated the visit.

Both Wolfe and Platt will have to pay fees to acquire certified copies of their birth certificates (Wolfe from Virginia; Platt from California). Then they will have to make another trip to the Hudson DMV to once again attempt to file their paperwork.