MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Elections Commission today reminds voters to be ready for the Spring Election on Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Voters can check their registration status and find their polling place on the MyVote Wisconsin website. Voters who are planning to go to the polls on Tuesday should check the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s MyVote Wisconsin website, https://myvote.wi.gov, to verify their registration, find their polling place and see what will be on their ballot.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5.
Polling place hours are the same across Wisconsin, no matter where you live. You just need to be in line by 8 p.m. and you can still vote.
Remember to bring your photo ID.
Wisconsin requires an acceptable photo ID to vote, such as a Wisconsin driver license, state ID card, U.S. passport, military or veteran’s IDs, tribal IDs, a certificate of naturalization, or some student IDs. Anyone with questions about photo ID can visit the state’s Bring It to the Ballot website (https://bringit.wi.gov) or call 1-866- VOTE-WIS for information.
If you don’t have an acceptable photo ID, you can get one for free at your local Division of Motor Vehicles office. For more information, call 608-266-1069.
An acceptable photo ID for voting does not need to show the voter’s current address. Proof of residence is established when you register to vote.
Wisconsin voters with a driver license or state ID card do not need to worry about whether their ID has a “REAL ID” star in the corner to be used as photo ID for voting. A photo ID with the star may be needed to board an airplane or enter federal buildings, but it is not required for voting.
An acceptable photo ID used for voting must be unexpired or, if expired, has expired after the date of the most recent general election on November 3, 2020.
Check with your municipal clerk regarding rules for returning an absentee ballot. A Waukesha County Circuit Court judge issued an Order, in place for the April 5 Spring Election, interpreting Wis. Stats. §§ 6.87 and 6.855. In following this Order, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) withdrew two of its memos and other references regarding drop boxes and notified Wisconsin’s County and Municipal Clerks that it withdrew the memos and to disregard any other WEC materials contradicting the Court’s Order.
Wisconsin Elections Commissioners
Ann S. Jacobs, chair | Marge Bostelmann | Julie M. Glancey | Dean Knudson | Robert Spindell | Mark L. Thomsen _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Administrator
Meagan Wolfe
The Order states:
• “An elector must personally mail or deliver his or her own absentee ballot, except where the law explicitly authorizes an agent to act on an elector’s behalf.”
• “The only lawful methods for casting an absentee ballot pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 6.87(4)(b)1. are for the elector to place the envelope containing the ballot in the mail or for the elector to deliver the ballot in person to the municipal clerk.”
• “The use of drop boxes, as described in the Memos, is not permitted under Wisconsin law unless the drop box is staffed by the clerk and located at the office of the clerk or a properly designated alternate site under Wis. Stat. §6.855.”
Voters can still return absentee ballots to clerks’ offices and polling places.
To return your absentee ballot, follow the instructions that came in the envelope with your absentee ballot. Most voters can return absentee ballots to their polling place on Election Day. However, voters in 39 cities, villages and towns that count absentee ballots at a central location, such as the city of Milwaukee, must return ballots to their clerk’s office or the central count location. Please refer to the return instructions that came with your absentee ballot.
Voters who return absentee ballots to their clerk’s office on Election Day should do so as early as possible, because the ballot must be picked up and delivered to the polling place by 8 p.m.
