Of the 101,116 absentee ballots the City of Madison Clerk’s Office has mailed to voters for the Presidential Election, 71,336 have been returned to be counted.
The Clerk’s Office strongly encourages absentee voters to mail back their absentee ballots as soon as possible. Putting your completed absentee ballot in the mail today, October 19, gives the ballot just over two weeks to get back to the Clerk’s Office in time to be counted on Election Day.
Under state law, only absentee ballots that are returned by Election Day are eligible to be processed. The Clerk’s Office delivers absentee ballots to the polls on Election Day to be counted at each voter’s polling place.
In order for an absentee ballot to count, the absentee envelope must be sealed, the voter must sign the envelope, the voter’s witness must sign the envelope, and the witness address must be listed on the envelope.
Absentee ballots delivered to the Clerk’s Office after Election Day cannot be counted. In November 2016, 121 absentee ballots were delivered to the Clerk’s Office after Election Day and could not be counted.
City of Madison absentee voters who have yet to return their ballot have a few options:
- Using the postage-paid certificate envelope provided by the Clerk’s Office, mail the ballot back to the Clerk’s Office as soon as possible;
- Drop the ballot – sealed in its signed certificate envelope – at the Clerk’s Office or any City of Madison in-person absentee voting site;
- Drop the ballot – sealed in its signed certificate envelope – in a secure City of Madison absentee ballot drop box;
- Ask a friend or neighbor to deliver the ballot, sealed in its signed certificate envelope, to the appropriate polling place on Election Day; or,
- Destroy the absentee ballot and vote in-person instead.
Voters who have returned an absentee ballot to be counted may not vote at the polls on Election Day without committing a felony.
Voters may check whether the Clerk’s Office has received their ballot back in the mail by looking up their voter record at myvote.wi.gov.
