STATEWIDE VOTING INFORMATION

• To register to vote and to vote, eligible voters must be United States citizens, age 18 or older by Election Day, and residents in a municipality (city, town, or village), or ward within a municipality, for 28 days before an election.
• Any persons convicted of felony are not allowed to register or to vote unless their civil rights have been restored by completing their terms of sentence, including probation or parole.
• Your municipality for voting purposes is where you actually live, not necessarily the same reference as your post office or phone.
• Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

SOURCES FOR VOTING INFORMATION

• Bring It to the Ballot, a user-friendly site created by the Government Accountability Board (GAB) to prepare voters for the new election requirements and procedures
• Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board (GAB)  608.266.8006
• Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation (DOT), for information on a WI DOT-issued Photo ID card  608.266.2353
• The Dane County Clerk  608.266.4121
• Your local municipal clerk
• The League of Women Voters of Dane County (this site)  lwvdc@chorus.net; 608.232.9447
• To check individual voter registration status and polling place, as well as sample ballots, visit the GAB’s Voter Public Access site.

Jump to:  VOTING (PHOTO ID)    ABSENTEE VOTING    CITY CLERK CONTACTS

REGISTERING TO VOTE

OPEN REGISTRATION: Up to 20 Days Before an Election
Open Registration by Mail

• Registration by mail occurs until the third Wednesday or 20 days before an election.
• To register by mail, print an Application for Voter Registration Form (Form GAB-131). The form is also available in Spanish, Hmong, and in a format that allows you to fill in fields online before printing it for your signature.
• Complete and mail the form to your municipal clerk’s office.
• Be sure to include on the form your Wisconsin Driver’s License number.
• If you have not been issued a Wisconsin Driver’s License, you may provide your Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT)-issued photo I.D. card number, or the last 4 digits of your Social Security number.
• If you have never voted in Wisconsin before, a photocopy of proof of residence must accompany the application.

 Open Registration for City of Madison Residents: Up to 20 Days Before an Election

• No proof of residence during this period is needed when registering by mail, unless you have never voted in Wisconsin before.
• In addition to registration by mail, City of Madison residents may also register to vote until 20 days before an election at any City of Madison public library. No proof of residence is needed in this case.

LATE REGISTRATION: Within 20 Days Before an Election

• Late registration occurs in person in your city, town, or village clerk’s office within 20 days before an election, until closing time on the Friday before an election.  
• The late registrant will receive a certificate of registration to bring to the polls on Election Day.  
• Voters registering to vote in the clerk's office during late registration must present proof of residence to the clerk.

LATE REGISTRATION ON ELECTION DAY

On Election Day citizens can register to vote at their polling place, with proof of residence. 

 Jump to:  REGISTERING TO VOTE    ABSENTEE VOTING    CITY CLERK CONTACTS

VOTING ON ELECTION DAY

• Voters must be registered to vote (see above sections on Registration).
  • Address Change within Wisconsin. Voters already registered with an address change from a different city in Wisconsin may complete a new GAB-131 form and submit it at the polls on Election Day.
• Voters must sign or make their mark on the poll book to obtain a ballot before voting.
  • Voters who are unable to sign the poll book because of a disability are exempt from this requirement. They must tell the Election Officials that they are unable to sign because of a disability. They do not need to disclose the nature of their disability to the Election Officials or to any observers. Election Officials will write “exempt” in the corresponding signature block area.
• Voters must show a GAB-acceptable form of Photo ID as proof of identity.

OBTAINING A FREE WISCONSIN DOT-ISSUED PHOTO ID

• If eligible to vote, a Wisconsin resident may obtain a free Wisconsin DOT-issued Photo ID, for purposes of voting, at a local Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) office.
• Be sure to check a box on the DMV application to indicate that you need the Wisconsin DOT-issued Photo ID for voting purposes, and openly state to DMV officials that you are applying for the free WI DOT-issued Photo ID “for voting purposes.”
• Replacement WI DOT-issued Photo ID is also free.
• DMV Locations in Madison:
  • Madison East DMV Service Center: 2001 Bartillon Dr; M&T/ 8:30-4:30; W/ 8-4 W; Th/ 10-5:30; F/ 8:30-4:30; Madison Metro bus route 6 via MATC
  • Madison West DMV Service Center: 4802 Sheboygan Ave; M&T/ 8:30-4:30; W/ 10-5:30; Th/ 8-4; F/ 8:30-4:30; Madison Metro bus routes 2, 14, 15
  • Madison Odana Renewal Center: 6514 Odana Rd, Suite 4 License and ID RENEWALS only; T/ 10-6; W/ 10:15-5:30; Th&F/ 10-6; Sat/ 8-4; Madison Metro bus route 73
• Other DMV locations in the state
• To obtain a free Wisconsin DOT-issued Photo ID for voting purposes, you must provide a certified copy of your Birth Certificate or a U.S. Passport expiring after 11/2/2010. These documents are not free.
  • If born within Dane County, contact the Dane County Register of Deeds, 608.266.4141, Room 110, City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in Madison for a certified birth certificate.
  • If born in another Wisconsin county, contact the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Room 158, 1 W. Wilson St in Madison, 608.266.1865
  • If born in another state, contact your local clerk’s office for their assistance in accessing other states’ vital record agencies.
• More information

PHOTO-ID for HOSPITALIZED VOTERS

Each hospitalized voter (regular or absentee) may appoint an agent to pick up his or her ballot from the hospitalized voter’s clerk’s office. The agent must present the hospitalized voter’s GAB-acceptable Photo ID (or a photocopy of the voter’s GAB-acceptable photo ID) to the clerk’s office, as proof of the hospitalized voter’s identity.

PROVISIONAL BALLOTS for VOTERS WITHOUT GAB-ACCEPTABLE PHOTO-ID

Non-absentee voters who are required but unable to provide a GAB-acceptable Photo ID will become provisional voters. Provisional ballots are not counted unless provisional voters provide their clerk’s office with a GAB-acceptable Photo ID by 4 pm on the Friday after the election.

Jump to: REGISTERING TO VOTE    VOTING (PHOTO ID)   CITY CLERK CONTACTS

VOTING ABSENTEE

• Currently registered voters may obtain absentee ballots by mail from their city, village or town clerk; absentee ballots are available by mail 3 weeks before local elections and 4 weeks before federal elections.
• Absentee ballots may be voted in person in your city, town, or village clerk’s office 2 weeks before an election and until the clerk’s office closes on Friday before the election.

VOTING ABSENTEE BY MAIL

• Request an absentee ballot from your city, town, or village clerk in writing by mail, fax, or e-mail.
• A reason for voting absentee is not required.
• With your statement of request you must provide:
  
  • Your name
  • The address where you are registered to vote
  • The address where the ballot should be sent
  • Your original signature
  • A photocopy of your GAB-acceptable Photo ID, if you submit your request by mail
  • If you submit your request for an absentee ballot by e-mail or fax, you may submit a photocopy of your GAB-acceptable Photo ID when returning your absentee ballot.
    

[After submitting the photocopy of your GAB-acceptable Photo ID, you will not have to send a photocopy of it for future absentee requests by mail, fax, or e-mail, unless you have moved or changed your name.]

GAB-acceptable Photo-ID Exemptions for Absentee Voters.
You are not required to submit a photocopy of your GAB-acceptable Photo ID if you are:

• A military voter
• A voter permanently residing overseas
• A confidential voter

You will be required to have alternative documentation specified by your city, village, or town clerk if you are:

• An indefinitely confined voter. A witness signs a statement verifying the voter’s name and address.
• A voter residing in a nursing home/care facility. A witness signs a statement verifying the voter’s name and address.
• A voter whose ballot is delivered by a Special Voting Deputy

Upon receiving the absentee ballot:

• Complete it. ** Sign the certificate envelope. ** Have a witness sign the envelope.
• If you did not submit a photocopy of a GAB-acceptable Photo ID when applying for an absentee ballot, submit a photocopy of it when returning your completed ballot.
• Return the completed ballot so that it reaches the clerk’s office before Election Day, to allow for delivery of ballot to the polling place before the polls close on Election Day.

VOTING ABSENTEE IN-PERSON AT THE CLERK’S OFFICE
2 Weeks before an Election and Until the Clerk’s Office Closes on the Friday Before an Election.

Provide a GAB-acceptable Photo ID when voting absentee in your clerk’s office during the 2 weeks before an election and no later than closing time on the Friday before the election.

Jump to: REGISTERING TO VOTE    VOTING (PHOTO ID)    ABSENTEE VOTING

City Clerk Information in Dane County

To register to vote, to vote absentee, to report address changes, or to find polling place locations, city residents may visit their city clerk.

Edgerton City Clerk, 12 Albion St, 608.884.3341, M/ 8 AM – 6 PM; T,W&Th/ 8 AM – 5 PM; F/ 8 AM – 4 PM*; www.cityofedgerton.com (Under Services, Elections)

Fitchburg City Clerk, 5520 Lacy Rd., 608.270.4200, 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM*; www.city.fitchburg.wi.us (Under Departments, City Hall, City Clerk, Voting and Election Information)

Madison City Clerk, room 103, City-County Bldg., 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., 608.266.4601, 8 AM – 4:30 PM* www.cityofmadison.com/clerk (Under Voter Information)

Middleton City Clerk, 7426 Hubbard Ave., 608.827.1050, 7:45 AM – 4:30 PM*; www.ci.middleton.wi.us (Under Departments, City Clerk)

Monona City Clerk, 5211 Schluter Rd., 608.222.2525, 8 AM – 5 PM; www.mymonona.com (Under City Government, Elections)

Stoughton City Clerk, 381 E. Main St., 608.873.6677, 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM*; www.ci.stoughton.wi.us (Under Departments, City Clerk/personnel, Elections & Voting)

Sun Prairie City Clerk, 300 E. Main St., 608.837.2511, 8 AM – 4:30 PM*; www.cityofsunprairie.com (Under Departments, City Clerk, Elections & Voting) Voters may also register to vote at the Sun Prairie Library (1350 Linnerud Dr.) during regular business hours, M–Th / 9 AM – 9 PM; F&Sat/ 9 AM – 5 PM; Sun 1 PM – 5 PM

Verona City Clerk, 111 Lincoln St., 608.848.9947, 8 AM – 4:30 PM*; www.ci.verona.wi.us (Under Elections) Voters may also register to vote at the Verona Public Library (500 Silent St.) during regular business hours, M–Th/ 9 AM – 9 PM; F/ 9 AM – 5 PM; Sat/ 9 AM – 4 PM

Town of Madison Clerk, 2120 Fish Hatchery Rd., 608.210.7260

*Municipal offices are required by statute to remain open until 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election.

Dane County Town and Village Municipal Clerks 

[This information reflects provisions and subsequent changes of ACT 23, the new Wisconsin voter ID law of 2011, and is based on information obtained from the City Clerk of Madison; the brochures issued by the Madison City Clerk “Voting in the City of Madison” (2011), “Obtaining an Identification Card to Vote” (2011); and “Recent Changes to Wisconsin Election Laws” (2011); the 2011-2012 Dane County Directory; the Web site of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB); and the Web site of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) / Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).]