Reminder: Elections 101 Videos Are Still Available for Use

In a world with many competing sources of information, it can be difficult to cut through the noise and effectively communicate with voters. Short videos can be a great addition to your voter outreach toolkit – if produced well, they can be easy to understand, informative, and – most importantly – deliver information in an engaging way.

Needless to say, producing engaging videos can be time-consuming and cost prohibitive. In part to provide a video resource free-of-charge to clerks and others, the WEC spent the better part of 2022 working with a Madison-based video production company to produce a series of short and engaging videos about how the election process works in Wisconsin, from start to finish. The series is called Elections 101, and if you haven’t already, you can check it out at elections.wi.gov/101.

While the videos live at elections.wi.gov/101, they are also available in a readily-shareable format, including download, on the WEC’s Vimeo page. You can view the Elections 101 video showcase, which contains all four Elections 101 videos and the 30-second official trailer, on Vimeo. You can also copy and paste the showcase link or individual videos to your own social media pages or embed the video series on your own website.

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Reporting Potential Election Fraud Part of Clerk's Role

Municipal clerks are entrusted with administering fair, accessible, and transparent elections and have a statutory duty (Wis Stat. § 7.15(1)(g)) to report suspected election frauds, irregularities, or violations.

If you have knowledge of any suspected election frauds, irregularities, or violations, you should report it to your county's District Attorney (DA). If you report something to the DA, you are required to copy the Wisconsin Elections Commission (@email) on the email, forward a copy of the referral, or send us a copy of anything sent by mail.

The statute doesn’t provide details on how a DA referral should be made, and clerks should contact their DA’s office for guidance.

The WEC prepares an annual report for the Legislature summarizing clerk referrals.

As always, WEC staff members are here to assist you in fulfilling your obligations to protect the integrity of elections and ensure public confidence in the election process.

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Processing A/B Ballots

The April 2 Presidential Preference Primary is coming soon! If you have a registered military or overseas voter (also known as UOCAVA voters), you may have an A and B ballot situation. State and federal law requires that UOCAVA voters receive their absentee ballot at least 45 days before any election with a federal office. This deadline fell before the February 20, 2024 Spring Primary, and therefore UOCAVA voters were sent an “A” ballot containing only the Presidential Preference election before military and temporary overseas voters will be sent a “B” ballot containing all of the federal, state, and local contests.

Processing your A and Bballots does require a little more organization, and WEC staff have put together suggested practices to better help your poll workers on Election Day. You can find the suggested procedures here.

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ElectEd

What you need to know about the new elections learning platform

ElectEd, the replacement for The Learning Center (TLC), launched on Jan. 12. Thank you to everyone who has been in the system and pointed out concerns and issues. Your patience is much appreciated as we all get used to the change.

Here are some things to keep in mind about ElectEd:

• It is now the only way to report clerk training to WEC and clerks are responsible for making sure they take the needed steps for their training to get recorded
• It is optional for poll workers; clerks are responsible for managing and troubleshooting poll worker accounts and issues
• Anyone who needs an account in ElectEd must have their own active email address

In response to your feedback, we are working to improve the platform. Here are some things on the list:

• Training completions not resetting when users go back in to review
• Offline trainings and events populating to user profiles as trainings and not just hours completed
• Progress percentages matching training completion

The speed has improved dramatically and we are continuing to review options for quick loading and fewer timeouts. We have also published a manual for ElectEd in the Non-WisVote Manuals training.

If you have not yet logged in to ElectEd, please do so and if you need access, just fill out a request form and email it to @email.

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New Legislative Maps

We understand that clerks are awaiting information from WEC about our plan for implementing new state legislative maps in WisVote after Gov. Tony Evers signed them into law Feb. 20.

What we can tell you is the implementation process will take time, and there are important unresolved questions remaining.

The new law is distinct from an ongoing court case over redistricting. While the new law may lead to resolution of the court case, that hasn’t happened yet, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court could issue further instructions regarding how and when the new maps are implemented.

Detailed geospatial data and maps have been posted on the Legislative Technical Services Bureau's (LTSB) website.

So, what’s the bottom line? Please be patient as there are still unresolved questions and an open court case. We will keep you updated as new information becomes available.

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Make Sure Voters Can Find You!

Check your staff info on MyVote

Maintaining your contact information and staff list in WisVote is crucial for ensuring that voters can contact your office and that only active election officials have access to this sensitive database. You can easily verify that your municipality's clerk contact information is correct by using MyVote. Click on the "Find My Clerk" link in the footer and enter a local address.

Also, as a matter of routine, please keep the WEC Helpdesk aware of any incoming staff members who need WisVote access, or outgoing staff members whose access should be removed, and the dates to change their access.

Please contact the WEC Helpdesk if you have any questions.

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Questions About Uninstructed Delegates?

A Statutory Option on the Presidential Preference Primary Ballot

Unlike Partisan Primaries, voters don’t directly decide which presidential candidate will appear on ballots in the fall. Instead, the two major parties choose their presidential candidate at their respective national conventions. Party members from each state vote on who their party will back to be on ballots in November, but the parties have rules on how delegates are allowed to vote at the convention. There are different rules among the parties, but essentially if a candidate gets enough votes statewide or in a congressional district from the Presidential Preference Primary, the delegate pledges to vote for them at the national convention.

If voters prefer the delegates make their own decision, they can select “uninstructed delegate” on their Presidential Preference Primary ballot.

Upcoming Dates & Deadlines

Upcoming Events

• March 11-12, 2024 – Deadlines for clerks to deliver ballots
• March 13, 2024 – WEC Webinar: Updated Manuals
• March 19, 2024 – Start of In-Person Absentee Voting (IPAV)
• May 1, 2024 – WEC Webinar: Spring Elections Wrap-Up

Upcoming Commission Meetings

• March 20, 2024: Special Meeting
• June 10, 2024: Ballot Access Meeting
• June 27, 2024: Quarterly Meeting

Upcoming Elections

• April 2, 2024 – Spring Election & Presidential Preference Primary
• August 13, 2024 – Primary Election
• November 5, 2024 – General Election