MADISON – A liberal advocacy group is suing Wisconsin elections officials in federal court over requirements for college students to prove their identity in order to vote.

Common Cause Wisconsin filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court arguing Wisconsin election officials are singling out college students by requiring their college-issued IDs to have certain elements the group considers to be redundant and needless.

"This suit asks whether it is constitutional for state law to single out a group of voters and require them to present or submit information that election officials and poll workers do not need and do not use," the complaint says.

Jay Heck, director of Common Cause Wisconsin, said the requirements amount to "completely unnecessary hoops that the Wisconsin voter ID law forces students to jump through to be able to vote" and need to be eliminated.

According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, a student may use their college-issued ID to vote if the card includes the student's name, signature, photo, date the card was issued and the date the card expires.

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The issued date also cannot be more than two years from the expiration date and the student also must provide documentation of their enrollment in the college or university at the time of the election.

The lawsuit argues such requirements duplicate proof of residence already provided when the student registers to vote and by receiving a Wisconsin college or university ID card. Some forms of ID never expire, making the state's requirement of having a student ID with a two-year window between issuance and expiration unnecessary, the plaintiffs allege.

"Lacking an important regulatory interest to impose these redundant, unnecessary, and irrational requirements for college and university student ID cards which needlessly force students to obtain a different campus photo ID card in order to vote, Defendants violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution," the complaint argues.

A spokesman for the Wisconsin Elections Commission was not immediately available to answer questions.

Contact Molly Beck in the Capitol bureau at (608) 258-2263 or at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.