Clark County CNRED Agent Talks Spring Election
Monday, March 18th, 2019 -- 12:45 PM
-A spring election is coming up on Tuesday, April 2nd and there’s still plenty of time for you to get registered to vote.I spoke with Melissa Kono, CNRD Agent for Clark County, as she discussed how to get registered, how to vote by absentee, what you need to bring to the ballot and more.
“So, we have a Spring Election on Tuesday, April 2nd. If someone maybe moved to a new municipality or has not voted before, if their address on their driver’s license is their current address, they are able to register online at myvote.wi.gov. They can register to vote just using the driver’s license or the Wisconsin issued photo ID. And that will go to their municipal clerk and they’ll be registered on Election Day.”
“Otherwise, here in Wisconsin, we do have same day voter registration, so somebody can go to the polls and register on Election Day. They just need to make sure they’re in the right spot. And that info is also available on the myvote site if someone is wondering where they’re supposed to vote.”
“If somebody is not going to be around on Election Day, they can request an absentee ballot. That can also be done on the myvote site. Or they can request that through the municipal clerk. They will need to be registered to vote before they can be issued a ballot, but that can be taken care of online. They can request an absentee ballot up to five days ahead of the election, but the problem with that is, the mail takes time. So, you want to do it sooner rather than later. And even if your plans change and you’re going to be in town, sometimes it’s nice just to get that ballot and vote and be done with it and you don’t have to worry about standing in line and getting to the polls on Election Day. And then absentee voting can occur up to the Sunday before the election, but it does depend a little bit on the schedule of the municipal clerk. Not all of them will have those hours, it’s just that no absentee voting can take place the day before the election, so that Monday.”
“Otherwise, people do need to bring a photo ID to the polls in order to vote. So, a driver’s license or that Wisconsin issued photo ID card. A passport works. A military or veteran’s ID also works. Some student ID cards work, but they have to include certain information on them so that they’re a little more particular than those other documents. If somebody has a driver’s license, but their address isn’t current, if they would like to register to vote at the polls on Election Day or with their municipal clerk ahead of time, they can bring a utility bill or a bank statement or credit card statement. There’s a couple other documents too that can be used to register to vote if their driver’s license is updated. But I would encourage them to get it updated. And, I think, they can do that online through the DMV.”
“For the Spring Election, we’re voting for municipal offices, so either town, village or city council. There’s a state supreme court race. And then, depending on the area they live in, there might be another judges race or possibly a school board race. And the information on what’s on their ballot should be posted on their municipal city hall door, but can also be accessed on the myvote site or the town hall function on Facebook is they’re on Facebook.”
As Melissa mentioned you can take care of many voting issues by visiting myvote.wi.gov.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.