Wisconsin Sees Twice as Many In-Person Absentee Ballots Cast on First Day of Early Voting Compared to 2023 Race

Friday, March 21st, 2025 -- 12:01 PM

(Rich Kremer, Wisconsin Public Radio) More than twice as many Wisconsinites cast in-person absentee ballots on the first day of early voting for Wisconsin’s April Supreme Court election compared to the same period two years ago.

According to Rich Kremer with Wisconsin Public Radio, all told, clerks across the state report receiving nearly 29,000 more votes this year than at the same point in 2023’s Supreme Court race.

While absentee ballots for the Supreme Court, state superintendent of schools and local races have already been circulating, Tuesday marked residents’ first chance to cast their absentee ballots in-person.

Data from the Wisconsin Elections Commission shows there were 34,036 early, in-person ballots cast Tuesday. That’s close to 121 percent more than the 15,435 in-person ballots received on the first day of early voting ahead of the 2023 high court election.

When combining early, in-person ballots and mail-in absentee ballots, clerks had received 85,612 absentee votes, or 28,793 more than in 2023. That works out to nearly a 51 percent increase.

The data represents a small sample, with in-person early voting continuing until March 30, and absentee ballots counted through election day. But it shows a trend of more people banking their votes before election day, particularly in Republican counties.

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