Politics
Wisconsin absentee ballots must arrive by Election Day as court rejects provisional-voting request
State election officials are urging voters to return absentee ballots early or use a drop box or clerk’s office as Election Day approaches. A judge rejected a temporary plan that could have offered a backup to voters whose mailed ballots arrive late.
Wisconsin election officials are urging voters to return absentee ballots well before Election Day, warning that ballots arriving after the 8 p.m. deadline cannot be counted under state law. The advice comes after a judge rejected a request to let some voters cast provisional ballots if their mailed absentee ballots appear unlikely to arrive on time.
Rock County Clerk Lisa Tollefson said voters should avoid mailing ballots when Election Day is less than two weeks away. Instead, she recommended delivering them to a clerk’s office, using a drop box or choosing another approved return method.
“If we don’t have it by 8 p.m. we can’t count it,” Tollefson said during a call with reporters Tuesday.
Wisconsin requires absentee ballots to be received by Election Day, unlike 15 states that accept ballots arriving later if they were postmarked by Election Day. The state is among 35 that do not accept late-arriving mail ballots.
A Wisconsin Elections Commission survey found that about two-thirds of municipal clerks reported problems with absentee-ballot mail delivery during the April election. Chetek City Clerk Mark Eby, vice president of the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association, said clerks have not yet seen widespread mailing problems this cycle, but are concerned about ballots sent close to the deadline.
Ballots began going out in mid-September, and voters had returned more than 142,000 by the time officials spoke Tuesday, Eby said.
The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit in July seeking to let voters cast a provisional ballot if they believe their mailed absentee ballot will arrive late. The case remains pending in Dane County court. On Oct. 6, Judge Rhonda Lanford denied the group’s request for a temporary injunction that would have put the provisional-ballot option in place for the upcoming election.
With that temporary option unavailable, election officials are emphasizing early returns and alternatives to mail. For voters who rely on absentee voting, the state’s strict receipt deadline means a delay in delivery can leave a ballot uncounted even if it was sent before Election Day.