The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS), in conjunction with Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, are announcing a program that will provide free smart card bus passes for people who need a ride to register to vote or to receive identification documents necessary to vote. Money for the program was put in the 2016 County Budget by the County Board of Supervisors and signed by County Executive Abele.
MCTS has developed a grant process to allow community groups and non-profit organizations already engaged in promoting voter registration and voter IDs to obtain MCTS bus passes for distribution through their programs.
The program is only for organizations who will then administer the passes. MCTS will not distribute passes directly to individuals as part of this program.
Any groups receiving the smart card bus passes would be required to:
- Show they help with voter registration and/or assist people in obtaining photo IDs
- Be based or have an office in Milwaukee County
- Screen individuals for eligibility
- Track disbursement of the smart card bus pass and incidental expenses such as postage
More details of the program, as well as the application, are available at RideMCTS.com.
