2024 WISCONSIN VOTER GUIDE
1.Voter Registration
Deadline to Register/Update: October 16, 2024
In-Person Registration available on Election Day
2. Check Your Registration
Why check your registration? Your address is where election officials send notices, application forms to receive your ballot in the mail, and more. Additionally, poll workers will check if the address on your voter registration matches the address on your ID at the polls.
Check/Update Your Registration Online
Checklist:
- Is your name spelled correctly? (Correct hyphenations, middle initials, etc)
- Correct Address
- Active Voter Status (if not update by sending in another online/mail voter application)
- Correct Date of Birth
- Correct Political Party Preference
- Take a time-stamped photograph or screenshot of your registration, and take it with you to the polls as proof of your registration.
3. Voter ID Law
Source: Ballotpedia
Wisconsin requires voters to present photo identification while voting.
The following list of accepted ID was current as of May 2023. Click here for the Wisconsin Secretary of State’s page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.
- Wisconsin Department of Transportation-issued driver license, even if driving privileges are revoked or suspended
- Wisconsin Department of Transportation-issued identification card, with or without a photo
- Military ID card issued by the U.S. Uniformed Services
- U.S. passport book or card
- Identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe in Wisconsin (can be expired or unexpired)
- Photo identification card issued by a Wisconsin accredited university or college, or technical college, containing the date the card was issued and a signature. (If expired, the voter must also provide a separate document proving enrollment).
- Veteran’s photo ID card issued by a government authority
- Certificate of naturalization issued within the past two years
- Driver’s license receipt issued by Wisconsin Department of Transportation (valid for 45 days from date issued)
- Identification card receipt issued by Wisconsin Department of Transportation (valid for 45 days from date issued)
- Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles ID Petition Process Photo Receipt (valid for 60 days from date issued)
The following voters do not need to provide photo ID:
- Confidential electors
- Active military and permanent overseas voters who vote by absentee ballot
- Indefinitely confined voters who vote by absentee ballot
Voters can obtain a free Wisconsin State ID Card at a Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles office. Voters need the following to apply for an ID:[2]
- Proof of name and date of birth (birth certificate)
- Proof of identity (Social Security Card, Medicaid/Medicare Card, etc.)
- Proof of Wisconsin residency (utility bill, government mail, lease, etc.)
- Proof of U.S. citizenship (U.S. Birth certificate or citizenship paperwork)
- Social Security Number
Voters who do not have all or any of the materials listed above can still obtain an ID. Call the voter ID hotline for assistance at (844) 588-1069.
4. Order Your Absentee Mail Ballot
Deadline to apply for Mail Ballot: Must be received by 5:00 PM on October 31, 2024
We recommend requesting your absentee mail ballot as soon as possible and well in advance of this deadline in order to ensure that you receive your ballot in time.
You don’t need a reason to be an absentee voter. Every Registered Wisconsin voter has the ability to request an absentee ballot.
USPS recommends mailing your ballot back at least 7 days before Election Day.
Go to your clerk’s office to drop off your ballot or vote in-person absentee. Your clerk might require an appointment or offer other in-person absentee voting locations, like your local library. For a list of municipal clerk’s offices, visit: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Municipal-Clerk
You may also take it to your assigned polling place or absentee counting location on Election Day.
Deadline to return Mail Ballot: Must be received before 8:00 PM on Election Day November 5, 2024
Surrendering Your Absentee Ballot:
- Wisconsin has a surrender rule. It is also an Election Day voter registration state.
- Reid Magney, Public Information Officer at the Wisconsin Election Commission, explained that
all voters could show up at an in-person polling place and vote with a regular ballot. This applies
to a vote who applied for, but did not receive, an absentee ballot. It also applies to a voter who
received an absentee ballot and sent it back but does not believe that it will arrive on time. - The only reason a Wisconsin voter is issued a provisional ballot is if they could not present an accepted form of state-issued ID when showing up at a polling place.
5. Early Voting Information
Early in-person absetee voting dates and times vary by location. You may search for voting locations and hours of availability based on your address here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Vote-Absentee-In-Person
You may also make an appointment with your municipal clerk. For a list of municipal clerk’s office locations, visit: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Municipal-Clerk
For more information regarding federal, state and local elections visit your state election official online: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/
6. Be A Poll Worker
- Become a poll worker!
- Poll workers must be 16 years old or over, and a registered voter (if over 18) in their county
- To sign up, visit: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Become-PollWorker