Make your absentee ballot count!
Common Issues with Absentee Voting
Wisconsin’s early voters should make every effort to complete their ballot and absentee ballot envelope correctly. If mistakes are made that lead to the tabulator rejecting their ballot, there won’t be a second chance to correct them. Here are a few common reasons for ballots being rejected.
OVER VOTING
When a voter votes beyond the limited number of votes NOTED ON THE BALLOT for a particulate office, this is considered OVER VOTING. Be sure to read the voting instructions for the voting system used in your election district. When a voter overvotes for a particular office, ALL of the votes cast by that voter for that office are then CANCELLED.
Examples of voting instructions on a ballot; are “Vote for one” or “Vote for Not More Than Two”.
CROSSOVER VOTING
Voters may vote for candidates of ONLY ONE political party in a partisan primary. Select a political party from the party preference section at the beginning of the ballot. Connect the arrow or fill in the oval in the space designated for the party of your choice. If you designate a party preference, and then cast a vote for a candidate in another party or write in a name under another party, only those votes cast for candidates within the designated party will count.
If you do not designate a party preference, and vote for candidates in more than one party or write in a name under another party, NONE of your votes will be counted. Voters should choose ONE candidate from their preferred political party’s list of presidential candidates to have their vote count.
RECORDING VOTES
Voters using pens sometimes record votes that the tabulators cannot read or understand, for example by circling the candidate’s name instead of filling in the oval. Use a blue or black pen to fill in the oval or complete the arrow on your ballot. If an error occurs with the tabulator, then the election inspectors (2 required) will examine your ballot and determine the voter’s intent. If the voter’s intent CAN BE determined the ballot will be REMADE. If the voter’s intent CANNOT be determined the ballot will be REMADE WITHOUT VOTES in the section where the error(s) were UNDETERMINED.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS ARE REJECTED FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS
Absentee ENVELOPE was NOT sealed.
The voter did NOT sign the certificate envelope on the line marked “Voter Signature.”
The witness did NOT sign the envelope on the line marked “Witness Signature.” It is okay if your witness is your spouse or significant other.
The voter did NOT print their name on the absentee envelope.
Witness did NOT print their name on the line marked “Witness Printed Name”
Witness did NOT write their address on the line marked “Witness Address” The printed address should include the house number, street name, and city.
The ballot was NOT delivered to your polling location by 8:00 pm on Election Day.
The voter was NOT registered to vote at the CURRENT address.
(If you have moved, register to vote at your new address before requesting an absentee ballot. Writing a new address on your absentee label/envelope does not update your voter registration.)
The voter died before Election Day.
MAKE SURE YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT WAS COUNTED, NOT TAMPERED WITH
Absentee ballots are also processed on Election Day. Election inspectors first verify the absentee ballot envelope meets all requirements, including the presence of a voter signature, witness signature, and witness address. If all requirements are met, election inspectors will open the envelope and place the ballot in the tabulator. These voters are marked with their voter number on the poll book when their votes are counted.
The entire process is open to observation by members of the public. https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/How-Your-Vote-Gets-Counted After the election, local election officials review the poll book that voters signed on Election Day and manually update the voter registration system with who voted in the election. This process takes time. After your vote has been recorded in the voter registration system, you can verify by checking the “My Voting Activity” section under “My Voter Info” on MyVote; https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Voter-Info
DO NOT DELAY! Return your ballot as soon as possible to ensure your vote is counted. Deadline is 8:00 pm on Election Day, April 2nd. You can also vote In-person absentee at your voting location beginning Tuesday, Feb. 19th.