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WEC approves absentee ballot mailing to 2.7 million registered voters
Vote 2

WISCONSIN - Brinksmanship was on full display as the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) ran down to the wire on a decision about sending 2.7 million Wisconsin voters an absentee ballot mailing. The mailing would contain information and an application to vote absentee in the November 3, 2020 election.

According to WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin Department of Administration Printing & Distribution required the finalized piece to be provided to them no later than Friday, June 19. After failing to approve the mailing to go forward at their June 10 meeting, the WEC voted unanimously 6-0 at their June 17 meeting to approve the final draft of the letter and application. 

“This will be a huge mailing, and will have to be printed in batches and stored in a climate controlled environment until it is time to send out the mailing on or around September 1,” Wolfe told the WEC. “DOA Printing & Distribution tells me it will require three semi trucks to hold all of the mailing pieces.”

Wolfe told the commission members that since the last meeting, her team had been able to conduct usability testing with the mailing pieces, and it had gone well.

“Almost all the feedback we received was that the language was very clear and helpful,” Wolfe said. “As a result, we are not recommending changes from a usability standpoint.”
Absentee Ballot mailing cover letter page one
THIS FINAL DRAFT of page one of the cover letter for WEC's absentee ballot mailing scheduled to go out to 2.7 million registered voters in early September shows the language that proved so contentious for members of the Wisconsin Election Commission.
Absentee Ballot mailing cover letter page two
THIS FINAL DRAFT of page two of the cover letter for WEC's absentee ballot mailing scheduled to go out to 2.7 million registered voters in early September shows the language that proved so contentious for members of the Wisconsin Election Commission.

Changes made

At the June 10 meeting, commission members provided feedback to WEC staff about changes they would like to see made to the letter and application before approving it. At the June 17 meeting, Wolfe presented the final draft and outlined how commission feedback had been incorporated.

Copy of Photo ID -in order to emphasize that an absentee ballot application could not be considered complete without a copy of or digital photo of an acceptable photo ID, WEC staff added language to the four steps outlined to apply. If submitting a paper application, it must be accompanied by a photocopy of an acceptable photo ID. If submitting the application online, the applicant must have a digital image of a valid photo ID ready to be uploaded. One common way to do this is to use a smart phone to take a picture of the front of a driver’s license, for instance. The image can be e-mailed to yourself, saved on your computer, and uploaded. The online application can also be completed using just the smart phone.

Affirming applicant is a registered voter– a check box was added to the form asking the applicant to affirm they are a registered voter. It is not necessary to check the box in order to submit a complete application, but since only registered voters are allowed to apply for an absentee ballot, there is no harm in choosing to check the box. It is also a way to emphasize that before you apply for an absentee ballot, you should verify that you are indeed registered to vote at myvote.wi.gov. If you are not registered, you can also register to vote online.
Absentee Ballot mailing application page one
THIS FINAL DRAFT of the absentee ballot application to be included in the September mailing to 2.7 million Wisconsin voters shows the language that was so contentious for members of the Wisconsin Election Commission.
Absentee Ballot mailing application page two
THIS FINAL DRAFT of the absentee ballot application to be included in the September mailing to 2.7 million Wisconsin voters shows the language that was so contentious for members of the Wisconsin Election Commission.

Discussion

Commissioner Dean Knudson (R-Hudson) commented that he was “pretty satisfied” with the changes which he saw as “helpful.”

“I am concerned, though, about the ‘Don’t wait. Request your ballot today,’ language at the bottom of page two of the letter,” Knudson said. “I think it should say that it must be received by 8 p.m. on October 29.”

Commission chair Ann Jadobs (D-Milwaukee) agreed with Knudson that specifying not only a date, but also the time, was a good idea.

Commissioner Bob Spindell (R-Milwaukee) questioned whether it would not be more proper to use the language ‘in-person absentee voting’ versus ‘early voting’ to describe that option.

Wolfe responded that her team had wrestled with that question, but had decided that ‘early voting’ was less confusing for the voter that ‘in-person absentee voting.’ Wolfe agreed that ‘in-person absentee voting’ was the most proper language.

Spindell also questioned the information on page one of the letter, in the ‘Option Three’ language which described requesting an absentee ballot. The language states that the ballot application must be received no later than October 29, 2020. According to Spindell, it should also state the time which is 5 p.m., and that it must be received either by the WEC or the voter’s local election clerk.

Spindell also took issue with the language in the ‘Indefinitely Confined Voter’ section of the letter.

“Shouldn’t there be a line for a signature – isn’t that required by statute?” Spindell asked.

Wolfe responded that a signature is required on the actual ballot envelope but not on the request to receive an absentee ballot.

Knudson suggested removing the “assistant” language which reads, “Assistant: if someone signed this form on your behalf,” and just leave it at “if you are indefinitely confined, then you don’t need a signature.”

Forwarding mailing

At the June 10 meeting, Wolfe had told the WEC that the mailing would not be forwarded. At the June 17 meeting, she reversed course, and said that after talking with DOA Printing & Distribution, she had learned that it would be forwarded.

Commissioner Spindell questioned why this had changed since the June 10 meeting, and offered a friendly amendment to Knudson’s motion to approve the letter and application which stated that the mailing would not be forwarded.

“Doesn’t first class mail automatically get forwarded?” asked Commissioner Marge Bostelmann (R-Green Lake).

“We did not agree to forwarding at our June 10 meeting, so unless we vote to approve forwarding, it cannot happen,” Jacobs said.

“Well, if that is the case, then I will drop my friendly amendment,” Spindell responded.

Wolfe told the commissioners that since the last meeting she had found more information about mail forwarding.

“Forwarding is standard with first class mail,” Wolfe explained. “According to DOA Printing & Distribution, you can choose not to have your mail piece forwarded – either is okay.”

Wolfe said that her concern is that voters will change their mailing address in myvote.wi.gov in order to vote in the August 11 primary, which is after the mailing list for the absentee ballot mailing has already been pulled from the database.

“I propose that the piece not be forwarded, but rather, is returned to the WEC,” Knudson stated. “That way, WEC staff can notify the local clerk who can respond to the issue at their discretion.”

“That is essentially voter caging, and will disenfranchise voters,” Jacobs said.

“No one will lose their right to vote as a result,” Knudson said.

Commissioner Mark Thomsen (D-Milwaukee) expressed frustration with the amount of time being spent on the topic, and moved that the absentee ballot mailing would not be forwarded. The commission voted unanimously 6-0 to prohibit the mailing from being forwarded.

Mailing timeline

The timeline for the WEC’s absentee ballot mailing, which will go out to 2.7 million registered voters in Wisconsin, will be as follows:

• WEC approval of the letter on June 17

• final version of the letter must be provided to Department of Administration Printing and Distribution by Friday, June 19

• selection of the final mailing list by July 1 

• putting out the mailing by September 1

• deadline to request an absentee ballot for the November 3, 2020 election is Thursday, October 29, by 5 p.m. – the registered voter must either make the request at myvote.wi.gov, or return the paper absentee ballot request either to the Wisconsin Election Commission or the voter’s local election clerk.
It was quite an election
On April 1
Election Results_April 1, 2025 Crawford County

Politics-weary Wisconsin citizens mustered the verve to once again go to the polls in Wisconsin’s April 1 spring election. With record spending, a barrage of campaign literature in mailboxes, chaos on the federal level, and an endless stream of divisive TV advertising, voters on both sides turned out in record numbers to support the candidates of their choice.

Happy or sad, it’s likely the vast majority is just glad it’s over. While most spring elections draw much lower turnout than a presidential election, voter turnout in this year’s race was on par with last November’s contentious election in which Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris for the office of President of the United States.

Of course, the Wisconsin Supreme Court election took top billing, garnering record amounts of spending. Conservative versus liberal control of the court was on the line with the retirement of liberal justice Ann Walsh Bradley. Contending for the 10-year term were Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel and Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.

The race was called for Crawford around 10 p.m. after Schimel called her to concede. The unofficial results show Crawford winning with 55% of the statewide vote to Schimel’s 45%.

Crawford County voters bucked recent electoral trends, carrying for the liberal candidate. In the county, Crawford took 51% of the vote, defeating Schimel with 49%. Crawford’s candidacy also prevailed in Vernon County with 54% of the vote, Richland County with 52% of the vote, La Crosse County with 63% of the vote, Sauk County with 57% of the vote, Iowa County with 62% of the vote, and Green County with 58% of the vote. Crawford’s victory was propelled by massive turnout and majorities in Dane, Milwaukee, Rock, Eau Claire and Bayfield counties. Voters in Dane County cast 82% of their votes for Crawford, in Milwaukee County 75%, in Rock County 61%, in Eau Claire 63%, and in Bayfield 61%.

Schimel’s campaign prevailed locally in Grant, Lafayette and Monroe counties, earning 52%, 51%, and 55% of votes cast respectively.

Incumbents prevail

It was also a night for incumbent candidates to prevail in races pertaining to public education in the state. Incumbent Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly won her race against charter school advocate Brittany Kinser, taking 53% of the statewide vote to Kinser’s 47%.

Locally, Underly outperformed Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford, winning her contest in counties that carried for Waukesha County judge Brad Schimel. Those counties include Grant and Lafayette counties, where Underly took 52% of votes cast. Kinser held on to votes cast for Schimel in Monroe County, taking 56% of votes cast.

Underly’s candidacy prevailed in Crawford, Vernon, Richland, Iowa, Sauk, and La Crosse counties. In those counties, Underly took 53%, 54%, 56%, 61%, 57%, and 61% respectively.

Mirroring the results in the statewide Superintendent of Public Instruction race, incumbent candidates Jerry Coleman and Charissa Richter prevailed against challengers Jesse Swenson and Melany Jelinek winning two three-year terms on the North Crawford School Board.

Coleman was the top vote-getter, with 660 votes, followed by Richter with 532 votes. Richter and challenger Melany Jelinek ran neck-in-neck for much of the night until results came in for the villages of Gays Mills and Bell Center, which pushed Richter over the finish line ahead. Jelinek finished with 502 votes, and Swenson with 412 votes.

Coleman took the most votes in the towns of Clayton, Haney, Scott, Utica, and in the villages of Bell Center, Gays Mills, and Soldiers Grove. Richter took the second most votes in the towns of Clayton, Haney, Scott, and Utica, and in the villages of Gays Mills and Soldiers Grove. Jelinek took more votes than Richter in the town of Freeman, and in the villages of Bell Center and Mt. Sterling.

Voter ID

Voters across the state voted to amend the Wisconsin Constitution to require photo identification to vote. The measure failed only in Dane and Milwaukee counties. Wisconsin had already required voters to show identification, but passage of the Republican-backed ballot question will make it harder for that requirement to be removed by the courts or the state legislature.

Statewide, the measure passed with 63% of the vote, with 37% of the voters voting against it.