Absentee voting encouraged for students leaving Madison this summer

Madison City Clerk Mary Witzel-Behl is concerned changes in statewide voting laws could prove confusing to students voting in the state’s recall elections. 

There is potential concern that students leaving Madison for the summer may not have time to establish residency for 28 days as required under Wisconsin law.

The primary date for the recall elections for the governor and some state senate districts is May 8. The general recall election will be held June 5, fewer than 28 days after the official end of spring semester exams on May 19.

While it appears the photo ID requirement is unlikely to be reinstated by the May 8 recall primary or the June 5 general recall elections, other changes in voting laws remain in place. Among the changes are the 28-day residency requirement, the elimination of the corroborating witness for voter registration, and the requirement that voters sign the poll book. 

Witzel-Behl says given the 28-day residency requirement, students who previously registered to vote in Madison but are leaving the city for summer break with the intention of moving back in the fall should opt to vote absentee here.

Absentee ballots can be cast in-person beginning two weeks before the election. The Madison City Clerk’s office is located at 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Room 103. Office hours are 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

Under the state law, in-person absentee ballots must be cast by the Friday before the election.

A ballot will be mailed to registered voters upon request if the voter can’t come to Madison to cast the ballot in person. The clerk’s office will mail the ballots up until the Thursday before the election. 

On return, mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before the election day and must arrive via mail to the city clerk’s office no later than the Friday following the election. 

For more on voting absentee, go to http://www.cityofmadison.com/election/absenteeVoting/absenteeRequest.cfm 

Students who are leaving Madison at the end of the semester and do not plan on returning should register to vote in their new place of residence once they have been there long enough to establish residency (28 days), Witzel-Behl says.