Less than 24 hours remain until the polls open in Wisconsin for Election Day, and preparations by city and county clerk's offices around the state is reaching a fever pitch. The numbers of early voters in Madison broke the 31,000 mark yesterday, and a possibly unprecedented turnout is anticipated tomorrow through new voters taking advantage of same day registration.
Given the high levels of participation and interest in casting early ballots, not to mention for Election Day itself, Madison mayoral communications director Rachel Strauch-Nelson is issuing a series of updates on election preparations. Here is the final report from the clerk's office before Tuesday:
Early Voting
The City Clerk's office had 822 absentee voters yesterday, processing 182 absentee voters an hour. That brings us up to a total of 31,101 absentee ballots, with 16,897 of those being issued in-person in the City Clerk's Office. Yesterday was the first Sunday ever that the clerk's was open for absentee voting.
Same Day Registration
Voters can still register to vote at the polls tomorrow. In order to do so, a voter must provide proof of residence for their current voting address. This includes any official document or piece of mail that shows where the voter lives. Some examples of acceptable proof of residence are:
- residential lease
- utility bill
- tax bill
- valid and current WI driver's license
- bank statement
- paycheck
- For students living in a university dorm, a UW ID is valid proof of residence to register on Election Day.
The following are NOT acceptable proof of residence:
- business card
- piece of mail addressed to the voter
- magazine subscription
- expired driver's license
If a voter cannot provide acceptable proof of residence, they may have someone who does have valid proof of residence (or who is already a registered Madison voter) vouch for them. This person must accompany the voter to the polls and sign a statement verifying their residence.
Polls Open at 7
Tomorrow, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are 80 different polling places in Madison. To find out where to vote, visit the City's website: http://www.cityofmadison.com/election/voter/Where.cfm
Quality Assurance Team
One last call for volunteers! All 1850 poll worker slots are full, but the City Clerk's office is also coordinating a new Quality Assurance Team for Election Day and is still looking for eligible voters in the City of Madison who would be willing to volunteer a couple hours on Election Day. Members of the Quality Assurance Team will be trained and sworn in as Election Officials. They will assist in processing the absentee ballots at the polling places on Election Day, as they time how long it takes for voters to get through the check-in line. If the line becomes long, they will call the Clerk's Office for additional staff. Throughout Election Day, the Quality Assurance Team will also verify that the number of voter slips handed out equals the number of ballots fed through the tabulator. Anyone interested in volunteering may sign up at www.cityofmadison.com/election.
Early voting in Madison continues at the City-County Building until 5 p.m. on Monday, at which point there will be a twelve hour hiatus until polls open on Tuesday. More information about Election Day is detailed by the Dane County Clerk. Get out and vote!
