Looking back at statewide elections since November 2008, the rate of absentee voting by Wisconsin citizens ranges from a low of 7.0 percent in the April 2012 spring election to a high of 65.6 percent in the August 2020 primary, an election that occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tracking absentee voting trends is complicated, in that there are several categories to consider, and the ways in which absentee ballots are defined has evolved over the years. For example, UOCAVA (the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986) requires that states allow for members of the United States Uniformed Services and other citizens living overseas to have access to vote in federal elections. In addition, most states have their own laws that allow citizens covered by UOCAVA to vote in state and local elections. UOCAVA ballots are used for military personnel, their families, and U.S. citizens residing overseas.
In the data below, in elections from November 2008 until August of 2018, absentee ballots were generally counted in just three categories: absentee (meaning, mailed ballots and in person delivery of absentee ballots), overseas, and military.
Starting in the August 2018 Partisan Primary, the way in which we record absentee ballots changed, and remains that way. Today, we report absentee ballots in the following categories: in-person absentee, non UOCAVA (meaning, mailed ballots not from the military or overseas civilians), military, temporary overseas, and permanent overseas. (Note: There is also a category for Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots, but those numbers are miniscule and do not affect the overall percentages).
Below are the raw numbers and percentages associated with absentee voting in recent years.
November 2008 general election (presidential)
Total ballots – 2,996,869
Absentee ballots – 633,610
Overseas ballots – 3,059
Military ballots – 3,437
Total absentee ballots – 640,106
Percent of total ballots – 21.3 percent
Wisconsin Elections Commissioners
Don M. Millis, chair | Marge Bostelmann | Julie M. Glancey | Ann S. Jacobs | Robert Spindell | Mark L. Thomsen
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Administrator
Meagan Wolfe
November 2010 general election Total ballots – 2,185,015
Absentee ballots – 229,074 Overseas ballots – 640
Military ballots – 763
Total absentee ballots – 230,477
Percent of total ballots – 10.5 percent
April 2012 spring election Total ballots – 1,127,415
Absentee ballots – 78,749 Overseas ballots – 161
Military ballots – 393
Total absentee ballots – 79,303
Percent of total ballots – 7.0 percent
August 2012 primary election Total ballots – 844,829
Absentee ballots – 80,548
Overseas ballots – 678
Military ballots – 454
Total absentee ballots – 81,680
Percent of total ballots – 9.7 percent
November 2012 general election (presidential)
Total ballots – 3,084,115
Absentee ballots – 659,444 Overseas ballots – 2,299
Military ballots – 3,595
Total absentee ballots – 665,338
Percent of total ballots – 21.2 percent
November 2014 general election Total ballots – 2,422,241
Absentee ballots – 374,294 Overseas ballots — 278
Military ballots – 861
Total absentee ballots – 375,433
Percent of total ballots – 15.5 percent
August 2016 primary election Total ballots – 645,619
Absentee ballots – 76,529
Overseas ballots – 228
Military ballots – 208
Total absentee ballots – 76,965
Percent of total ballots – 11.9 percent
November 2016 general election (presidential)
Total ballots – 2,997,276
Absentee ballots – 819,316
Permanent overseas ballots – 3,436
Military ballots – 2,984
Total absentee ballots – 824,736
Percent of total ballots – 27.5 percent
August 2018 primary election Total ballots – 1,041,837
In person absentee ballots – 48,403
Non UOCAVA ballots – 59,659
Military ballots – 2332
Temporary overseas – 1
Permanent overseas – 166
Total absentee ballots – 108,461
Percent of total ballots – 10.4 percent
November 2018 general election Total ballots – 2,688,473
In person absentee ballots – 413,336
Non UOCAVA ballots – 162,445
Military ballots – 1,418
Temporary overseas – 202
Permanent overseas – 1,645
Total absentee ballots – 579,046
Percent of total ballots – 21.5 percent
August 2020 primary election Total ballots – 929,995
In person absentee ballots – 50,416
Non UOCAVA ballots – 558,108
Military ballots – 839
Temporary overseas – 61
Permanent overseas – 379
Total absentee ballots – 609,803
Percent of total ballots – 65.6 percent
November 2020 general election (presidential)
Total ballots – 3,294,872
In person absentee ballots – 653,091
Non UOCAVA ballots – 1,301,849
Military ballots – 6,839
Temporary overseas – 1,129
Permanent overseas – 5,563
Total absentee ballots – 1,968,471
Percent of total ballots – 59.7 percent
April 2022 spring election Total ballots – 979,359
In person absentee ballots – 47,946
Non UOCAVA ballots – 189,440
Military ballots – 203
Temporary overseas – 29
Permanent overseas – 0
Total absentee ballots – 237,618
Percent of total ballots – 24.3 percent
