Users' Choice
What you need to know about early absentee voting in Wisconsin
Election day is November 8. But opportunities to cast "early" votes – either by in-person absentee ballot or by mail absentee ballot, begin very soon.
In order to help Wisconsin voters understand their options in light of these recent changes, Common Cause in Wisconsin has created a webpage with information on what Wisconsin voters need to know in order to vote with an early absentee ballot.
The page contains important links and deadlines – including a page on student voting – and will be updated regularly with new information as it is received.
As a result of a July 2016 federal court decision, early absentee voting will begin across Wisconsin sooner than has been the case over the last five years. Early voting restrictions now removed include:
- Limiting municipalities to one location (municipal clerk's office) for in-person absentee voting
- Requirement that in-person absentee voting run no earlier than two weeks before an election, and only take place on weekdays
- Prohibition on distributing absentee ballots by email or fax
Determining the location and schedule for early in-person voting is the responsibility of individual cities, villages and towns. Therefore, implementation of these new changes will vary. For example, in the cities of Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay, early in-person voting is set to begin on September 26; in Appleton and Oshkosh, early in-person voting is scheduled to start on October 17.
