City Clerk's Office

The webinar for the Spring Primary will be live at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, January 31.  The recorded webinar will available through your training portal.  The training handout can be found here.

Election officials who watched the live webinar must enter their training portal to record that they have completed the required webinar training for this election. Election officials: please see your assignment email for instructions on recording your completed training.Remember to record that you have completed the training through your training portal. Please refer to your assignment email for instructions on how to record that you have completed the required training.

How do we handle attempts to drop off absentee ballots in cases where the person dropping off the absentee is not the voter and is not assisting someone with a disability?  All we can do is explain that we are not allowed to accept the ballot.

Does an absentee witness address need to have a zip code in order to be complete?  No.  The state requires a house number, street name, and municipality.  Zip code is not required.

Will we have cue cards at the polls with the questions to be asked of a person dropping off an absentee ballot?  Yes.  Each polling place will have several copies of an updated Poll Worker Reference Guide.

If someone other than the voter wants to drop off an absentee ballot, but they answer that no, they are not delivering the absentee because a disability prevents the voter from doing so, may we accept the absentee ballot?  No.

Absentee ballot envelopes should not be opened until a voter slip number has been assigned to the voter, right?  That is correct.

Should empty absentee envelopes be organized by voter number or alphabetically?  It helps the Clerk's Office with reconciliation if the absentee envelopes are at least somewhat in alphabetical order.

What happens to absentee ballots without a complete witness address?  Absentee envelopes that are missing the witness house number, street name, or municipality are rejected.  They are not assigned a voter number, and are not opened.

What should we do if someone tries to use an out-of-state driver license or ID card as voter ID?  Refer to your materials at the polls, and ask the voter if they have one of the types of ID accepted under Wisconsin's voter ID law.  If they do not have an acceptable ID with them at the polls, offer the voter a provisional ballot.

What does municipality refer to in an absentee witness address?  A municipality is a city, village, or town.

Does the voter have any recourse if their absentee ballot is inadvertently not counted on Election Day?  No.  That is why we need to pause before running the results on election night to make sure the number of voters matches the number of ballots counted, and to double-check that all absentees have been processed.

Does the Clerk's Office send a notice to voters whose polling location has changed?  Yes. 

Is there a transparency we can use to make sure voter registration forms that voters printed online are complete?  No.  The transparency you have at the polls is for registration forms that voters fill out at the polls.  If voters use the MyVote website to begin the registration process, the website will prompt them to complete all required fields.

Is there a proper way to mark a rejected absentee?  Yes.  The envelope remains sealed and the rejected envelopes are numbered sequentially.  Follow the steps outlined in the black Processing Absentees binder at your polling place.

Are rejected absentees retained by the Clerk's Office? Yes, with all other election materials, for the amount of time specified in State Statue.  Rejected absentee envelopes are never opened.

Do we accept UW-Madison student ID cards?  UW students on the certified housing list can present their WisCard to prove their address when registering to vote at the polls.  The WisCard is not an acceptable form of voter ID, but UW students can get a free Voter ID card from the WisCard office.

Can a voter visit the MyVote website to find out whether their absentee ballot was counted?  Yes, but the Clerk's Office needs to manually update each voter's participation after the election.  It takes up to four weeks for the Clerk's Office to finish recording voter participation in the state system.

Can a person vote at the polls if the witness address on their absentee envelope is incomplete?  No.  If the voter has returned their absentee ballot, even if it is going to be rejected, they may not vote at the polls without committing a felony.

If someone arrives at the polls a minute or two after the polls close, can they vote the next day?  No.

If a voter's registration is inactive, do they need to register in order to be able to vote?  Yes.

If I move from apartment 202 to apartment 101 in the same building with the same street address, do I need to re-register?  Yes.

Why might a voter registration be inactivated?  If a voter registers in another state, their voter registration is inactivated in Wisconsin.  A voter might request that their registration be inactivated.  Another possibility is that the voter may have gone four years without voting, and did not request to remain on the poll list upon receiving a four-year maintenance notice from the state.

If someone has a Green Card, are they able to vote?  No.  You must be a U.S. citizen to be eligible to vote in Wisconsin.

In order to register to vote, do you need to live in Wisconsin for 28 days, or be a resident of the United States for 28 days?  You need to have established residency at least 28 days before the election at the address for which you are registering to vote.

If I am a poll worker at the polling place where I vote, can I vote any time there is a lull in the voting line?  Yes, you can.

Can a homeless shelter be considered a place of residence?  Yes, it can.

What happens if a voter comes to the polls after the DMV closes, and they do not know their driver license number? The DMV phone number and website available at your polling place can be used during all voting hours on Election Day.

Can we abbreviate the name of the entity issuing a proof of residence document so it fits in the space provided on the voter registration form?  Yes.

If someone moves within 28 days of an election, can they just vote at their previous ward?  Yes.

Are voter registration forms available at polling places, or will voters need to bring their own form?  Voter registration forms are available at each polling place.

If a document proving a voter's address does not have an account number, is it okay to not list an account number on the registration form?  Yes.  We only list the last four digits or two digits of the account number when there actually is an account number on the proof of address document.

How does the voter prove that they are a U.S. citizen?  The voter certifies on the form that they are a U.S. citizen.  Just above the voter's signature, the form says "If I have provided false information, I may be subject to fine or imprisonment under State and Federal laws."

If a voter is hearing impaired, can they show their ID instead of announcing their name and address?  Yes.  The poll worker could then announce the voter's name and address.

On the subject of being respectful, using a previous name (sometimes called a dead name) of someone who is transitioning can also be considered a form of harassment.  That is correct.  Thank you for the reminder.

If an observer is not to speak with a poll worker, how do we answer a question they may have?  The observer should be directing their questions to the Chief Inspector.

Will I have a mentor to help me when I work at the polls for the first time?  Yes, you will be paired with an experienced poll worker.

Remember to set up the ExpressVote so it isn't isolated in a corner, but so the voter has some privacy when marking their ballot.  That is correct.

If a voter's witness did not provide their address or provided an incomplete address on the absentee envelope, can they come to the polling location on Election Day to complete the witness address portion on the envelope?  Does the voter also need to be present?  Yes.  The voter and original witness may come to the polls on Election Day to complete missing portions of the absentee envelope (voter signature, witness signature, and/or witness address). Both the voter and the witness must be present, even if only one of them needs to sign the envelope or complete the address.

Can a person register at the polls on Election Day and not vote?  They can, but should not be assigned a voter number.  Please note at the top of their voter registration form that they registered but did not vote so the Clerk's Office is able to reconcile voter participation after the election.

Can a paycheck stub be used as proof of residence?  Yes, it can.

Will I be able to cast my own ballot when I work at the polls on Election Day?  You may cast a ballot at the polling place for your address.  We try to assign poll workers to their own polling location whenever possible.