Now, proof of residence is required every time a person registers. The requirement is particularly burdensome for young people voting in their college towns. Their current address is not likely reflected on their driver’s license and they are less likely to have documents, such as bank statements or utility bills, that document their college residence.

Even organizations such as the League of Women Voters must demand proof of residence when running registration drives.

“When we register voters at the farmer’s market, we have to ask people for proof of residence,” she said. “First off, you might not have your bank statement or residential lease in your back pocket. But second, you’re showing that to a private citizen who is deputized. If I were registering to vote, I wouldn’t just let some stranger take a picture of my bank statement.”

In addition, voter registrars also must be authorized to register voters by each municipality in which they seek to register voters. A registrar who runs into a Fitchburg resident at the Dane County Farmer’s Market may not register that individual without being authorized by the Fitchburg clerk.

“What these new laws have done is made it much less likely that young people will register in the first place,” said Kaminski.