Tuesday, October 20, 2020, is the first day that clerks may offer in-person absentee voting hours in their municipality. In preparation, we wanted to provide you with some reminders about resources that can be used to support your efforts in conducting voting over the next two weeks. Please contact us at @email or (608)261-2028 if you have any questions.
High Volume of Voters: We are hearing reports from other states that the first few days of in-person absentee voting have seen a high volume of voters coming out to cast ballots. We do not know if we will see the same type of volume here in Wisconsin, but we wanted to make everyone is prepared for that possibility.
Type E Notice and Hours: Your Type E Notice should accurately reflect the locations where voting will take place and the hours that are being offered at each location. Please note that the recent court decision in the One Wisconsin Institute case determined that in-person absentee voting hours can only be offered beginning on the 14th day prior to election day and the final day where voting hours can be offered is the Sunday before the election. For the November 3, 2020 General Election, the in-person absentee window is October 20 through November 1. Your Type E Notice should be amended if there are any changes to your voting hours.
Public Health Procedures: We have posted guidance regarding public health procedures that can adapted into your preparations for in-person absentee voting and it can be found here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7043. This document outlines outdoor and drive through options and gives clerks some suggested procedures and reminders for safely conducting voting in their office.
Election Observer Guidance: Election observers are allowed to be present during in-person absentee voting and we have posted updated observer guidance here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7174. A dedicated observation area should be created in the clerk’s office or satellite in-person absentee voting site and all observers are required to wear face covering while inside the voting area. An updated version of the Elections “Observers at a Glance” brochure has been posted along with the memo at the link above.
In-Person Absentee Voting Information on MyVote: We are now displaying in-person absentee voting information for each municipality on myvote.wi.gov. Voters can now see the locations and hours being offered in their municipality. This information is determined by data that you have entered into WisVote or information that has been entered on your behalf by your provider. We are also displaying any applicable drop box options as well. Please review the information in WisVote or that displays on https://myvote.wi.gov to ensure that it is accurate.