How To Vote
Wisconsin currently provides several methods for voting in elections. You may vote in person at your polling location. You may early vote at your municipal clerk's office and you may absentee vote either by mail or by placing a ballot in an official dropbox in your municipality.
Voters wishing to use early voting or absentee voting should remain alert. The currently proposed SAVE Act in Congress seeks to eliminate absentee and early voting except in limited conditions, such as military or permanent invalid status.
Voting In Person
A safe and reliable method of voting is at your local polling location on election day. Locations and hours for your polling location can be found at myvote.wi.gov. You will need to bring a valid ID that matches your registration info, including full name and current address.
Early In Person Voting
If you are unavailable to vote on election day, or if you simply want to vote early, you may cast your ballot early with your municipal clerk. Early voting generally starts 2 weeks before an election, and ends the Friday (or Sunday in some localities) before. Hours vary among municipalities. You can find your local municipal clerk on the MyVoteWi website. Note that ballots cast early at the clerk's office are treated as absentee ballots and will be counted only after the polls close.
Absentee Voting
Wisconsin allows unconditional absentee voting. If you are registered, you may request an absentee ballot online at MyVoteWI . When requesting an absentee ballot, you must provide a valid Wisconsin Driver's license or state ID card. Any other form of id must be submitted directly to the municipal clerk. The request must be renewed for each election you are voting. Exceptions are made for members of the military and voters who are certified invalids. An absentee ballot will be then mailed to your registered address. Wisconsin mails out ballots 47 days before each election. If you have not received your ballot 30 days before the election, you should contact your municipal clerk.
Once you have received your ballot you are free to select your candidates and submit the ballot.
There are several methods available for returning an absentee ballot. The ballot may be mailed via US Postal Service in the provided envelope. Note that Wisconsin statute requires that the ballot be received (not postmarked) by 8 PM on election day. It is recommended that you mail your ballot at least 10 days before the election, as the post office has had issues with timely delivery in recent years.
The ballot may also be returned in person to your municipal clerk or deposited in the official ballot dropbox for your community. Once again, the ballot must be submitted by 8 PM on election day.
Finally, you do have the option of discarding the absentee ballot and voting in person at your polling place on election day.
Informed Voting
It is important to know what is on your ballot. Ballots are typically available 47 days before an election with federal contests and 21 days before state and local contests. The ballot can be downloaded at MyVoteWi Candidate information and positions are generally available on candidate websites (see candidates page for links). Good non-partisan information is also available on the Ballotpedia Wisconsin site and the League of Women Voters Wisconsin Candidate page