All Wisconsin voters have a right to cast a ballot privately and independently at their polling place on Election Day. The Wisconsin Elections Commission is committed to ensuring that all polling places in Wisconsin are accessible to all voters. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires that every polling place in the State of Wisconsin meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility standards.
Registering
You can have an assistant when completing a voter registration application or absentee application. After completing the application, the assistor must then sign the form in the appropriate box and provide any additional required information. Explaining how to complete the form is not “assistance".
Voting & Election Day
Voters have multiple options to receive assistance with their voting process. All Wisconsin voters are eligible to request a by mail absentee ballot for any reason. Voters may also indicate indefinitely confined status, due to age, illness, infirmity, or disability and receive ballots for every election until they fail to return a ballot or indicate a change in status. Voters who receive assistance while absentee voting must have the assistor sign the absentee certificate envelope. All voters must also obtain a witness for their voting process who signs the absentee certificate envelope and provides their address. The assistor may also serve as the witness.
Voters voting at the polling place in Wisconsin are required to sign the poll list before receiving a ballot. You are exempt from this requirement if you cannot sign the poll list because of physical disability. The election inspectors will write “exempt by order of inspectors” in the signature line and issue you a ballot.
If you need help marking your ballot on Election Day, you may take anyone you choose with you into the voting booth, except your employer or your labor union representative. After you have marked your ballot, the person helping you must then sign the ballot in the space provided. Also, the election workers will write the name of your assistor on the voting list. Your assistor does not need to be qualified to vote.
You can request help with the accessible voting equipment. Anyone who helps you with a direct-recording electronic accessible voting machine (Edge, iVotronic, Populex or Accuvote) should position themselves behind the machine so that they cannot see how you vote. They are allowed to explain how the equipment works but cannot assist you with making your ballot choices.
- All polling places must have accessible voting machines available for use at the polling place on election day.
- All polling places must also fulfill any requests from voters wishing to vote curbside, or voting without leaving your vehicle.
- Voters may also request accommodations from their local municipal clerk. These accommodations are confidential.
