Absentee Voting

Any qualified elector who is unable or unwilling to appear at the polling place on election day may request to vote an absentee ballot. A qualified elector is any U.S. citizen, who will be 18 years of age or older on election day and who has resided in the ward or municipality where he or she wishes to vote for 28 consecutive days before the election. The elector must also be registered.

YOU MUST MAKE A REQUEST IN WRITING TO OBTAIN AN ABSENTEE BALLOT.

Beginning in 2012, absentee requests for ballots sent by mail must be accompanied by a photocopy of an acceptable form of voter ID (see following list). Once you have sent your municipal clerk’s office a photocopy of your ID, you will not need to send photocopies with future absentee ballot requests, as long as your name and address remain the same.

If submitting an absentee request via fax or e-mail, you must return a photocopy of your acceptable ID in your absentee envelope. When returning an absentee ballot to your municipal clerk’s office, please read the instruction letter provided by the local municipal clerk very carefully. We want all votes to count!

Acceptable forms of Voter ID – (All expiration dates are applicable for elections in 2011 and 2012. They will change for elections after that date)

Wisconsin driver’s license expiring after the last general election (for 2012 this would be Nov. 2, 2010)
Wisconsin DOT – issued photo ID card expiring after 11/2/10
U.S. passport expiring after 11/2/10
Military ID card expiring after 11/2/10
Certificate of naturalization issued within last 2 years
Unexpired Wisconsin driver’s license or state ID receipt
ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe in Wisconsin
Unexpired ID issued by a Wisconsin accredited university or college – MUST contain issuance date, student signature, and expiration date within 2 years of issuance.

Photo ID Exemptions

Photo ID is not required for the following absentee voters:

Military voters
Voters who are permanently overseas

Photo ID will not be required but will be replaced by alternative documentation requirements for:

Voters on the permanent absentee list because they are indefinitely confined
Nursing home residents and other voters who have ballots delivered by a Special Voter Deputy

To receive an absentee ballot:
Contact your municipal clerk and request that an application for an absentee ballot be sent to you for the requested election date(s). Your written request must list your voting address within the municipality where you wish to vote, the address where the absentee ballot should be sent, if different, and your signature. REMEMBER you must be registered at the address you are requesting the absentee ballot for.

Special absentee voting application provisions apply to electors who are indefinitely confined at home or a care facility, in the military, hospitalized, or serving as a sequestered juror. If this applies to you, contact your municipal clerk.

You can also personally go to the clerk’s office and vote absentee. You will be asked to see an acceptable form of voter ID before voting absentee in the clerks office.

NEW ABSENTEE VOTING DEADLINES:

BY MAIL: The deadline for making application to vote absentee by mail is 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the election. (For military, indefinitely confined electors and sequestered jurors the deadline remains at 5:00 p.m. the Friday before an election).

IN PERSON: The deadline for voting an absentee ballot in the municipal clerk’s office is 5:00 p.m. on the FRIDAY preceding the election. With the passage of the new Voter ID Law, absentee voting in the clerk’s office is prohibited the Saturday, Sunday, or Monday before an election.

All voted ballots must be returned to the municipal clerk so that they can deliver them to the proper polling place before the polls close on election day.