1. Mailer Status. On September 1, the Wisconsin Elections Commission mailed a voter information packet to approximately 2.6 million registered voters who did not have an absentee ballot request on file for the November 3 election. The mailer included an absentee ballot application form. WEC staff began receiving absentee mailer forms back to our office on September 8. We currently expect to process approximately 30,000 requests. Requests from unregistered voters and duplicate requests will not be passed along to clerks for review at this time. A portion of the mailers were also returned undeliverable. WEC staff will hold the undeliverable mail pieces for the time being – no immediate action is required for these mailers.
2. Request Processing. Requests are now being scanned, data entered, and routed to municipal clerks for review.
A. Instructions for WisVote Users. Clerks with WisVote access should regularly review the “2. Pending Absentee Application” view, available from the Absentee Application tile to process new pending applications. Clerks should review the scanned application form and photo ID (if provided) and accept or decline requests accordingly.
B. Instructions for Reliers. Relier clerks without WisVote access should process applications through emails sent from the WEC. For reliers, declined requests should be communicated to WEC staff by replying to the notification email. Approved requests will simply be added to the absentee ballot log. Providers are encouraged to review the “2. Pending Absentee Application” view in WisVote when processing data from the Absentee Ballot Log received from reliers, to reduce manual data entry time.
3. Scans and Original Copies. Each pending application will include a scan of the absentee application and photo ID (if provided). Please note that the validity of the photo ID should not be determined on the quality of the scan but rather that the photo provided reasonably resembles the voter and meets all other photo ID requirements. Original copies of the absentee applications will be mailed to clerks.
4. Problem Requests. Declined requests will trigger WEC staff to send a letter and email (if available) to voters notifying them of an insufficiency with their request. The letters voters will receive are attached to this communication. Voters are directed to work with their local clerk to fix issues with their request. A voter will receive a “Missing Photo ID” letter if the clerk identifies that the voter didn’t provide acceptable photo ID. Voters who applied as an indefinitely confined but failed to sign the indefinitely confined certification will be sent the “Missing Indefinitely Confined” letter.
5. Questions. Please do not hesitate to contact us at (608)261-2028 or at @email with any questions you may have.