Are absentee ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. on Election Day still able to be counted?

No, only absentee ballots received by the municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day are counted.

Wisconsin is what is called an “in-hand” ballot state. This means postmarks on return absentee ballots are irrelevant. The absentee ballot must be in the hands of the proper election official by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

Municipal clerks do not consider postmarks on return absentee ballots because the postmark is not consequential. The time when the ballot was “in hand” by the clerk’s office is what determines a ballot’s status, not the postmark on the envelope in which it was mailed.