More Information on Voting Before November 3rd Election
Monday, October 5th, 2020 -- 1:18 PM
-As we get closer to the November 3rd Election, there are different different deadlines that Wisconsin residents should be aware of when it comes to voting.I spoke with Melissa Kono, CNRED Agent of Clark County, and she clarified some of those deadlines.
Q: “Let’s talk about online voter registration. Voters still have time to do that as that ends on October 14th. Can you talk about that and that process if someone would like to register online for voting.”
Melissa: “The Wisconsin Elections Commission operates the MyVote.wi.gov voter registration site. It also has some really cool functions on it. And I encourage people to only use that site. I see a lot of third party voter registration sites. I can’t speak to the legitimacy of them, but I would be using the official MyVote.wi.gov site. And if someone has a current driver’s license or photo ID card, they can go into the myvote system and register to vote. If they’re not sure if they’re registered, they can just type in their name and birth date and it will tell them if they’re registered and, if they’re not, it gives them that option. If they have a driver’s license or photo ID card and the address is not current on it, they also have the opportunity to change that and they can change it for free online at the DMV as well.”
“So, if they have those things, they can register to vote. There’s also some other really cool functions on that page. They can find out where their polling place is, what’s on their ballot and they can request an absentee ballot. But it’s really important that they register to vote by October 14th if they’re going to do it online on the myvote site. After October 14th, there’s no longer the online registration option. However, people can still register in person with their municipal clerk or in Wisconsin we still offer voter registration on Election Day.”
Q: “If people are interested in doing some early voting or absentee voting, they can request that absentee ballot now.”
Melissa: “So, in person, absentee voting, which people call early voting, does not start until 14 days prior to the election. That’s been a recent change due to a court ruling in July. But if people want to request an absentee ballot and have that ballot mailed to them, I certainly encourage them to do that sooner rather than later because it can be a little slow with mailing times and such. But if they’re registered to vote, they can go to MyVote.wi.gov and there’s a function on there to request an absentee ballot. If they’re not registered yet, they can register and then turn around and request an absentee ballot be mailed to them and then they would vote. It’s just a regular paper ballot and they can either mail it back to their clerk or they can hand deliver that ballot back to their clerk if they don’t want to wait for mailing times.”
“And one thing to be aware of, when requesting an absentee ballot, is you do need a witness to sign the ballot and also put their address. So, if you live alone and you’re social distancing, it’s a little bit harder these days. So, make arrangements to have somebody witness the ballot and don’t forget to have them sign it and list an address. Because I’ve had some ballots come back that are missing some of those. And you can correct it, but we might be running out of time at that point. So, make sure you follow all the directions.”
Q: “And it’s actually fairly simply to for people to check that in case they did make that mistake, because it will tell you right on the MyVote site if your clerk has gotten your ballot.”
Melissa: “Yes, you’re able to track that on the MyVote site. So, once you request an absentee ballot, once the clerk receives that notice that they’ve received it, that they’ve mailed out the ballot. Then when you send it back, the clerk will input that they’ve received it. And if there is an error, there is a function that lets the voter know. But, I’m telling you upfront, to make sure you have those things signed and witnessed, so you don’t have to go through all that trouble later. Because you have to bring the same witness back to sign it. And then check it. Make sure it gets in.”
Q: “Anything else? Anything else we should touch on at this point in regards to the election?”
Melissa: “Even if you plan to vote in person on Election Day, it’s still a good idea to go on the MyVote site and just check your information. Make sure you’re going to the correct polling place and that you have the proper photo ID. Even if you request an absentee ballot, you still need to show a photo ID. For those of us with smartphones, it’s pretty easy to take a picture and upload it. But for people who aren’t maybe tech savvy or don’t have access to that, that’s going to be another thing they’re going to have to take care of is making a photocopy of their photo ID to send to the clerk in order to get their ballot. So, heads up on that.”
“But I would just make sure you know where you’re going and you have what you need if you decide to register in person on Election Day. If your driver’s license is current, then that’s all you need, but if not there’s other documents you can use too, such as a utility bill, even a hunting or fishing license, your Wisconsin vehicle registration. All of those are pretty handy things to have if you need that to register to vote if your driver’s license or photo ID card is not up to date. But, you will need a photo ID in order to receive a ballot either by absentee or on Election Day.”
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.