Voting thru SVDs
Yes! When the SVDs visit, you can decline to vote your ballot and vote at an in-person absentee polling location before election day or at the polls on election day instead.
If you are registered to vote from the care facility (meaning you used the care facility address as your residence) AND that care facility is served by SVDs, your absentee ballot will be delivered by the SVD's or mailed to your mailing address if you are unable to vote during either SVD visit. Your family member is welcome to be in attendance when the SVDs visit and act as your assistant.
Rather than vote with the SVDs, you could vote at the polls on election day or vote absentee in-person at your municipal clerk's office or alternate site.
Alternatively, if you maintain a home outside of the care facility, you would be able to register to vote from that address and could apply to receive an absentee ballot with that registration.
If your Power of Attorney is a family member, they may assist you with registering to vote and voting your ballot* but they may not do those things on your behalf without your presence (Wis. Stat. 6.875(6)(c)1). Your Power of Attorney may request your absentee ballot on your behalf.
*If you are in a care facility served by SVDs, they will need to be in attendance during one of those visits in order to assist you.
Candidates
Anyone can view the list of candidates running for office. For federal, statewide, and multijurisdictional judge positions, Wisconsin Elections Commission publishes and posts the Candidate Tracking by Office report ahead of the election. Voters can view exactly who will be on their ballot on the Type B notice published by the clerks on the Friday before the election. They may also view a sample ballot on MyVote.
Note: Sample ballots will not appear in MyVote until the list of candidates has been certified and added to the election by the clerks. Voter can expect to be able to view their sample ballot up to two weeks before the election.
The presence of a candidate at a location where ballots are given to voters may give the appearance of electioneering. During hours when ballots may be cast, Wis. Stat. § 12.03 prohibits electioneering at polling places, in-person absentee voting sites, and locations where special voting deputies are present. It also prevents electioneering on public property within 100 feet of an entrance to one of these locations. Electioneering is defined by the statute as “any activity which is intended to influence voting at an election.” Additionally, while most individuals may observe voting at polling places and in-person absentee voting sites, any candidate whose name appears on a ballot at one of those locations is not extended that right under Wis. Stat. § 7.41(1). For these reasons, the Wisconsin Elections Commission recommends that a candidate only be present at one of these locations in order to vote, and to leave as soon as the candidate has finished voting.
2020 Election FAQs
HAVA Checks are comparisons between a voter registration record and a DMV or Social Security record. They are also sometimes referred to as “DMV Checks.” They are designed to catch typos and data entry errors to improve the quality of the voter registration list. They are not designed to be a qualification to vote.
HAVA is the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which was passed in the wake of the problems in Florida following the 2000 election. Among other things, HAVA required Wisconsin to create a statewide voter registration database and provided funding for that system. Before 2006, when the system went online, Wisconsin law only required voter registration in larger cities. In smaller towns, there was no voter registration, just a book where poll workers would write the names of voters when they came to vote.
Specifically, Section 303 of HAVA, titled “Computerized Statewide Voter Registration List Requirements and Requirements for Voters Who Register by Mail,” mandates the creation of a computerized list containing the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the State, which shall serve as the official voter registration list for federal and state elections. HAVA § 303(a)(1)(A) codified at 52 U.S.C. § 21083(a)(1)(A). HAVA requires that individuals, upon registering to vote, provide a current driver license number, if they have one, or last four digits of their Social Security Number, for those who do not. Voters who have neither a driver license nor a Social Security Number are assigned a separate identification number for purposes of the official registration list. HAVA § 303(a)(5)(A) codified at 52 U.S.C. § 21083(a)(5)(A).
“HAVA Checks” (known more commonly as DMV Checks) occur automatically when the statewide voter registration system attempts to match data from voters with data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Social Security Administration.
There are two kinds of DMV Checks. The first kind are run in batches overnight on voters who register on a paper form, whether in person or by mail. This check attempts to match the voter’s name, date of birth and driver license (or state ID) number. If the voter does not have a Wisconsin driver license or state ID card, the system tries to match the name, date of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security Number with Social Security records.
Checks for Online Voter Registration
The second kind of DMV check happens during online voter registration (OVR). Unlike the nightly HAVA check process, the OVR DMV check occurs nearly instantly to verify that a voter’s name, date of birth, license number, and jurisdiction match DMV records. If the OVR DMV check does not match, the voter is not permitted to register online. Therefore, all records with a source of “Online Registration” passed the OVR DMV check with a 100% match.
Wisconsin law does require anyone who registers to vote online to correctly match four separate fields from their DMV record. These DMV checks occur in real time, and there must be an exact match for the voter’s name, date of birth, DMV number and residence jurisdiction. This check is required for proof of residence in registration.
About HAVA Checks
When people register to vote with their municipal clerk or at the polling place on Election Day, the WEC checks their names, dates of birth and driver license number against Wisconsin DMV records. If they do not have a Wisconsin driver license or state ID card, their names are matched with Social Security records. These matches, known as HAVA checks, are made within 24 hours of the clerk entering the information in the statewide voter database. HAVA is an acronym for the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002.
Approximately 5% of the people who registered to vote between January 1 and November 3, 2020, were at least initially non-matches with either DMV or Social Security databases. That does not mean these voters are not real Wisconsin citizens.
When there is not a match, we know that in most cases, it is the result of errors. The most common error (63%) is a mismatched name, often due to misspelling, name variation (Bob instead of Robert), nickname or a missing suffix missing (Jr. or Sr.). The next most common error (22%) is a driver license or state ID number mismatch. Wisconsin DMV numbers have one letter and 13 digits, and non-matches often result from writing the number incorrectly on the voter registration form or entering it incorrectly in the voter database. Other innocent reasons for mismatches include typos in the data. For example, one voter registered at the polling place on 8/11/2020. The clerk inadvertently recorded the voter’s birthdate as 7/5/1990 instead of 7/15/1990, resulting in a non-match.
When there is a non-match, a registered voter is never “removed” from the statewide voter database. Neither Wisconsin nor federal law require a match, and Wisconsin law does not permit clerks or the WEC to remove a voter from the list for not matching.
The issue of what happens with a HAVA Check mismatch is not new. In fact, it was extensively litigated in 2008 when the Wisconsin Attorney General sued the Government Accountability Board (WEC’s predecessor agency). The AG claimed the GAB was required to remove voters with HAVA Check mismatches.
In J.B. Van Hollen et. al v. Government Accountability Board et. al, the judge found that none of the provisions of HAVA affect the fundamental voter eligibility qualifications. HAVA mandates action by States with regard to voting systems, accessibility for individuals with disabilities, and establishment and maintenance of the official statewide voter registration list. HAVA establishes no additional voter qualifications, except in the limited case of a first-time voter who registered by mail and who must either provide a photo identification or current proof of residence, or else must vote by provisional ballot. A successful HAVA match eliminates this additional requirement.
The court further determined that HAVA does not mandate the imposition of a consequence or penalty for a voter whose voter registration data does not precisely match information contained in the DOT or SSA databases. The HAVA match process also does not alter the voter eligibility requirements established by state law. The court ultimately concluded that HAVA Checks are intended to assist in improving the quality of voter data in the State’s official voter registration list on an ongoing basis, not to convert an otherwise qualified voter into an ineligible voter. The GAB adopted the court’s findings on January 15, 2009.
So what happens if the DMV Check doesn’t match?
If there is a non-match, the voter’s record is flagged in the statewide voter database for clerks to review, and the clerk receives a DMV Check alert. Clerks are asked to review non-matches to ensure a data entry error was not responsible for the non-match result. Clerks often are able to identify things like data entry errors but will also attempt to contact voters whose non-matches they cannot resolve. For the treatment of non-match records in the database, the WEC observes procedures established after litigation involving its predecessor agency, the Government Accountability Board (GAB). In J.B. Van Hollen et. al v. Government Accountability Board et. al, Dane County Court Case 08CV4085, the judge found that none of the provisions of HAVA affect the fundamental voter eligibility qualifications. HAVA mandates action by States with regard to voting systems, accessibility for individuals with disabilities, and establishment and maintenance of the official statewide voter registration list. HAVA establishes no additional voter qualifications, except in the limited case of a first-time voter who registered by mail and who must either provide a photo identification or current proof of residence, or else must vote by provisional ballot. A successful HAVA match eliminates this additional requirement.
The court further determined that HAVA does not mandate the imposition of a consequence or penalty for a voter whose voter registration data does not precisely match information contained in the DOT or SSA databases. The HAVA match process also does not alter the voter eligibility requirements established by state law. Order in Dane County Court Case 08CV4085 at 10. The judge emphasized that HAVA must be read in the context of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its prohibition on official government action denying the right to vote “because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under state law to vote in such election.” Court Order at 12.
The court ultimately concluded that HAVA Checks are intended to assist in improving the quality of voter data in the State’s official voter registration list on an ongoing basis, not to convert an otherwise qualified voter into an ineligible voter. By enacting and implementing HAVA, neither Congress nor the Legislature has altered the longstanding basic voter eligibility requirements, namely U.S. citizenship, age, and residency, along with an absence of disqualifying factors such as a felony conviction or a finding of incompetency. The GAB adopted the court’s findings. Wisconsin Government Accountability Board meeting minutes, Item F, January 15, 2009.
Election Day Registration Verification
Wisconsin election law (Wis. Stat. § 6.56) requires a separate verification process for people who register to vote on Election Day.
If you register to vote at the polling place, the Wisconsin Elections Commission will mail an address verification postcard to you after your municipal clerk enters your voter registration into the statewide database. If the post office returns your postcard to the clerk as undeliverable, the clerk must change your record to inactive, and the clerk is required to make a referral to the district attorney’s office for investigation and possible prosecution.
According to statistics about the November 2020 election posted on the WEC’s website (https://elections.wi.gov/statistics-data/voting-statistics), there were 6,488 undeliverable postcards and 2,922 voters who have been inactivated because of the postcard being returned. Clerks reported making 373 referrals to district attorneys so far. After November 2016, there were far more undeliverable postcards and referrals. There were 10,429 undeliverable postcards and 3,870 voters who were inactivated 954 as a result. Clerks reported making 954 referrals to district attorneys.
Election Day Registration and Voting Security
Wisconsin has allowed Election Day registration for many years, and it is extremely popular with voters who need to update their registration after they move or change their names. It is also secure.
To register to vote at the polls on Election Day, a voter must provide:
- A proof-of-residence document with a current address, such as a driver license, bank statement, tax bill, utility bill or letter from a unit of government.
- Their driver license or state ID number (or the last four digits of their Social Security number if they don’t have a DMV number). However, there is no requirement or process in state law to verify that DMV data before they vote.
To vote on Election Day, all voters must show an acceptable photo ID, including a Wisconsin driver license or state ID card, U.S. Passport, military ID, veterans ID, some student IDs, tribal ID, and certificate of naturalization. Poll workers are provided samples of acceptable photo IDs, and there has never been a problem with voters presenting fake photo IDs.
Election Security & Integrity
No, Badger Books never touch the internet, which is in accordance with the Commission’s directive outlining the creation and implementation of an electronic poll book program. In polling places where there is more than one Badger Book station, the devices do connect to each other to update the electronic poll list. The network they use to communicate is either via an encrypted wireless router or a hardwired ethernet cable through a secure router that is not connected to the Internet. All guidance and training provided to the municipalities by WEC staff stress the importance of this lack of external connectivity.
Read more about Badger Book security.
No. Voters do not need to worry, their ballots were counted. Voting equipment in Wisconsin is tested at the local, state and federal level for all kinds of pens and other marking devices. While we recommend that voters use the pen or marking device provided at their polling place or as instructed in their absentee ballot, the use of a felt-tip pen doesn’t invalidate a ballot.
State law does not authorize or require signature comparison as a part of the voting process or during any post-election recount or audit. Instead, for security purposes, Wisconsin requires most absentee voters to show or provide a copy of their photo ID when requesting a ballot.
As a part of the absentee ballot counting process, every absentee certificate envelope is checked to ensure the voter and witness signed the certificate. However, nothing in Wisconsin law establishes a process for comparing those signatures, as there is not necessarily any original signature for them to be compared with. Signature matching is a specialized field, and Wisconsin election officials have received no training or certification in signature matching. For those reasons, conducting an audit of absentee voters’ signatures would be impractical and unwarranted.
No. Absentee voting procedures allow an elector to complete a ballot before election day. However, absentee ballots are not considered cast until election day. If the voter is deceased at the time the absentee ballot is being processed at the polling place, the ballot cannot be counted. S. 6.21, Wis. Stats.
Voters
If an absentee ballot is unfolded, that means the voter cast an absentee ballot in the clerk’s office on a piece of voting equipment known as the ES&S ExpressVote. The ExpressVote is a touch-screen ballot marking device (BMD) which prints the voter’s choices on a smaller paper ballot which does not need to be folded. ExpressVote ballots can be counted using the ES&S DS200 precinct scanner, just like regular sized paper ballots. ExpressVote BMDs are also used by people with disabilities to vote in person at polling places.
The clerk or deputy clerk is required to initial the absentee ballot before issuing it to the voter, so it is natural that many of them all have the same set of initials. More info about initials in this FAQ.
No. A voter who casts a ballot pursuant to § 6.82 (1) Wis Stats. is not required to sign the poll list under § 6.79 (1m) Wis. Stats. Election inspectors shall mark the poll list “Ballot received at poll entrance-exempt.”
The progression is as follows:
Voter who possesses a WI driver license or WI DOT issued ID:
• If it is current and valid (not revoked, suspended or expired)
o Voter must provide the license number
o If they cannot or won’t provide the number, they can register and vote provisionally
• If driver license is revoked, suspended or expired
o Voter must provide the last 4 digits of their Social Security number (SS#)
o They may also provide the number on their license or ID (optional)
Voter who does not possess a WI driver license
• Voter must provide the last 4 digits of their SS#
o If the voter cannot provide the last 4 digits of their SS#, they may not register or vote
Voter who possesses neither a WI driver license nor a state ID nor an SS#
• Checks in the box indicating they have no WI driver license/state ID nor SS#
Yes. Along with meeting all the usual requirements, voters who vote by absentee ballot must follow special rules in completing and signing the certificate on the ballot envelope, and having the certificate witnessed.
If any of these rules aren't followed, election officials at the polling place must reject the absentee ballot. These rules replace the safeguards normally present when a voter appears in person at the polling place.
If the request is made by mail by a regular voter, it must be in the office of the municipal clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding an election.
If the request is a calendar year request, it can be made until 5:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the election.
If the request is made in-person, the deadline is the last day that the clerk is offering in-person absentee voting.
Special provisions are made for hospitalized electors and sequestered jurors to request and vote by absentee ballot on election day.
The absentee ballot request is made to the municipal clerk in writing using the Application For Absentee Ballot (EL-121) or by letter or email to your municipal clerk requesting an absentee ballot which provides substantially the same information required on the application form.
You can find your municipal clerk on the MyVote Wisconsin website: myvote.wi.gov by searching for your voter record or performing an address search.
You will need to provide a copy of your acceptable photo ID with your absentee ballot request. More information about the photo ID requirement can be found on our photo ID page.
Any qualified elector who registers to vote. (A qualified elector is a United States citizen, 18 years of age or older, who has resided in the district in which he or she intends to vote for at least 28 days.)
Not all voters can get to the polling place on election day. An absentee ballot is the printed ballot marked by an absent voter, sealed in a special envelope, and given or mailed to the municipal clerk. The municipal clerk ensures that each absentee ballot that is returned in a timely manner gets to the right polling place on election day. If accepted, the absentee ballot is counted as if the voter had cast the ballot in person.
Clerks
If the missing information was proof of identification, the voter must appear in person. If the missing information is the driver license or DOT issued ID number, they may mail, fax, email or telephone the information to the municipal clerk.
The municipal clerk is an election administrator and, as such, should be available to the election inspectors on election day for advice, supplies, etc. In addition, there are circumstances where a hospitalized elector or sequestered juror may request an absentee ballot from the clerk on election day. Therefore, if the clerk is unable to be available on election day, a deputy should be appointed to act in the clerk's absence.
Elections
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has published two recall manuals (for Congressional, County, and State Officials; for Local Officials) explaining the process of recalling an elected official. Please consult these publications for answers about how to initiate a recall, deadlines for recall petitions to be circulated, and timelines for review and scheduling of recall elections.
Complaints
You have the right to file a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission. However, most people are able to resolve their complaints informally. We suggest you may want to follow the steps below as a starting point to resolve your concern.
Call or write your municipal (i.e., city, village or town) clerk’s office to let them know about the problem. The clerk’s office may be able to resolve your concern right away. Find your municipal clerk under Directory of Wisconsin Clerks on this web site.
Contact other employees who work for your city, town or village to see if they can help you.
If you still have problems, you can call the Wisconsin Elections Commission at (608)266-8005 or email us at @email.
If your complaint is still not resolved, you can file a formal, verified complaint with the WEC. The WEC web site contains a complete guide for filing a formal complaint.
If the WEC is unable to resolve the formal complaint to your satisfaction, you may have the option of filing a complaint under certain laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if they apply to your situation.
Organizations that advocate for persons with disabilities such as Disability Rights Wisconsin (DRW) may be able to assist you in resolving your complaint if it is related to a disability. To reach DRW’s Voting Rights Line, call 800/928-8778 (voice) or 888/758-6049 (TTY).
Wisconsin law provides that whenever any person believes that a violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) has occurred, is occurring, or is proposed to occur with respect to an election for national office in this state, that person may file a written, verified complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
A verified (or sworn) complaint is a written challenge, sworn to before a person authorized to administer oaths. The complaint must set forth facts within the knowledge of the complainant (the individual filing the complaint) to show probable cause to believe that a violation of law or abuse of discretion has occurred or will occur. The complaint may be accompanied by relevant supporting documents. This process can be found on the WEC web site.
If you have witnessed efforts to commit any kind of fraud or corruption in the voting process, you may report this to local law enforcement officials such as your sheriff’s or police department. You may also report this to the District Attorney in your county.
You may report this to federal law enforcement officials at:
United States Attorney's Offices
Eastern District of Wisconsin: 414-297-1700
Western District of Wisconsin: 608-264-5158
If you have witnessed actual or attempted acts of discrimination or intimidation in the voting process, you may report this to the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice at 1-800-253-3931.
Voters with Disabilities
If you have questions or concerns about the voting process, including polling place accessibility or accessible voting equipment, you may contact your municipal clerk.
You can check the Directory of Wisconsin Municipal Clerks on this website to find contact information for your municipal clerk. This listing contains telephone and fax numbers as well as addresses.
You may also use our online complaint form contact the Wisconsin Elections Commission at 608-266-8005, or e-mail: @email.
Yes. A Power of Attorney can request an absentee ballot for an elector. No person (not even a POA) may "vote" a ballot for another elector. If the elector requires assistance in completing the ballot, the elector may designate another person to assist the elector in marking the ballot.* In the presence of the elector, the ballot is marked according to the elector's direction. The assisting elector must sign their name on the ballot under the section entitled "Signature of Assisting Individual."
*The assisting elector cannot be the elector's employer or an agent of that employer or an officer or agent of a labor organization which represents the elector. S. 6.82(2)(a), Wis. Stats.