Former Miss Wis. Rapids fights for voter rights

Caitlin Shuda, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Molly McGrath, who works for VoteRiders to help people get the required photo identification needed to vote, assists Mike Battles with questions about early voting in Madison, Wis, McGrath is helping explain Wisconsin's complex and seemingly ever-changing election laws to voters. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Molly McGrath uses her passion for voting to help hundreds of voters navigate the voter ID laws across the country.

The Wisconsin Rapids native and former Miss Wisconsin started promoting voting in Wisconsin more than a decade ago. Now, she's the national campaign coordinator at VoteRiders, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on helping voters understand the voter ID laws. The organization's work convinced a federal judge to order an investigation to learn whether Wisconsin's Division of Motor Vehicles is following the law when it comes to giving voters the IDs they need to vote.

In Wisconsin, voters must bring a valid ID to the polls in order to vote. If voters don't have identification, the law says they can get a voter ID at the Division of Motor Vehicles at no charge within six days.

In 2000, McGrath held the title of Miss Wisconsin Rapids Area, and in 2004, McGrath won Miss Madison and went on to be Miss Wisconsin. As Miss Wisconsin, McGrath promoted voting in 150 schools across the state.

“(In 2004,) I was talking about voting and how great and easy it was to vote in Wisconsin,” McGrath said. “I always knew I would come back to Wisconsin and work with voting. It was always my passion. I never thought that I’d come back to Wisconsin and work in a way to fight restrictive laws. I thought it would be much more progressive and voting would be easier. Instead, we’re helping people with laws that are making (voting) harder.”

McGrath said the concept of voting inspires her, because each vote represents equality.

"My vote counts as much as Scott Walker's, or Aaron Rodgers' or my neighbor's," McGrath said. "We all have that exact same amount of power."

Miss Wisconsin Molly McGrath promotes voting while visiting with students at Abbotsford High School in 2005.

Although voters have more hoops to go through in order to vote, McGrath doesn’t think voters are discouraged.

“Part of my job is to make sure they’re excited,” McGrath said. “If I’m doing my job well, they’re not discouraged. It’s not as easy as the government is claiming; you do need volunteers and nonprofits to help, but people are determined to vote. People are really energized for this election. The last thing we want is for the voter ID law to keep anyone from the polls.”

If anyone plans to not vote because of the new laws, McGrath suggests they call her. She gets calls through VoteRiders from across the state and across the nation from people who aren’t sure how to vote or what they need to bring with them. McGrath assures them it’s normal to be unsure of the new laws, and wants people to know there’s assistance available for them.

VoteRiders workers recently visited multiple DMV offices in Wisconsin and recorded several instances where DMV employees gave inaccurate and wrong information to people trying to get a voter ID. Some told people they were required to bring a birth certificate, and others said they could not guarantee the voter would receive an ID in time for the election. U.S. District Judge James Peterson ordered Wisconsin to provide a report on whether the state DMVs were following the law. During that investigation, DMV employees provided accurate information. Gov. Scott Walker said the problems were caused by staff members not following their training, not the training itself.

A complaint by the liberal group One Wisconsin Institute has asked Judge Peterson to suspend the voter ID law in Wisconsin because of the irregularities. The judge will hear that request Wednesday.

McGrath credits her passion for voting to her parents, Ken and Susan. She began volunteering and canvassing neighborhoods at a young age, and the idea of voting inspired her.

“I loved growing up in Rapids," McGrath said. "There was always somebody who could help you with something. That really helped me growing up there to continue to think about helping people. It inspired me to help people to vote and exercise their constitutional rights.”

For more information, visit voteriders.org or call the VoteRiders hotline at 608-729-7720.

Contact reporter Caitlin Shuda: 715-424-7307 orcshuda@gannett.com; on Twitter @CaitlinShuda

Miss Wisconsin Molly McGrath, a graduate of Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School and University of Wisconsin-Madison, autographs pictures at Wausau East for Voter Registration Awareness Day in 2005.