Spring Election

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Voters go to the polls between 7 am-8 pm, 4/6. For current polling places/ballot info: cityofmadison.com/clerk or clerk.countyofdane.com. 608-266-4601.

media release: The eity of Madison Clerk’s Office has had to move many polling places since the February Spring Primary and the November General Election. Voters are encouraged to check whether their polling place has changed if they plan to vote on Tuesday, April 6.

Voters can visit cityofmadison.com/WhereDoIVote, enter their address, and their polling place location will be listed. Voters can also visit myvote.wi.gov to find their polling place, verify their registered to vote, and look at a sample ballot before heading to the polls to cast their ballot.

More info from the Madison City Clerk's Office: In-person absentee voting will begin Tuesday, Mar. 23, at several locations throughout the City of Madison.

What will you need to bring with you if you’re voting absentee in person?

• An acceptable photo ID for voting in Wisconsin
• If you need to register for the first time or update your registration because of a move or name change, you will need to bring a proof of residence document with you, too

Voting will take place inside at all of the locations listed below. Election officials have been trained to follow the advice of Public Health when it comes to COVID-19 safety precautions. Due to capacity restraints, you may need to wait for a voter to exit the absentee voting site before you can enter.

City Clerk's Office, 210 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., Room 103: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm; Saturday, March 27, 12:00 – 4:00 pm; Saturday, April 3 (pre-registered voters only), 12:00 – 4:00 pm

Goodman South Madison Library, 2222 S. Park St.: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 11:00 am – 4:30 pm; Saturday, March 27, 12:00 – 4:00 pm; Saturday, April 3 (pre-registered voters only), 12:00 – 4:00 pm

Meadowridge Library, 5726 Raymond Rd.: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 11:00 am – 4:30 pm; Saturday, March 27, 12:00 – 4:00 pm; Saturday, April 3 (pre-registered voters only), 12:00 – 4:00 pm

Pinney Library, 516 Cottage Grove Rd.: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 11:00 am – 4:30 pm; Saturday, March 27, 12:00 – 4:00 pm; Saturday, April 3 (pre-registered voters only), 12:00 – 4:00 pm

Alicia Ashman Library, 733 N. High Point Rd.: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 11:00 am – 4:30 pm; Saturday, March 27, 12:00 – 4:00 pm; Saturday, April 3 (pre-registered voters only), 12:00 – 4:00 pm

Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 1625 Northport Dr.: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Saturday, March 27, 12:00 – 4:00 pm; Saturday, April 3 (pre-registered voters only), 12:00 – 4:00 pm

Goodman Parks Maintenance Facility, 1402 Wingra Creek Pkwy.: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Fleet Services, 4151 Nakoosa Trl.: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Olbrich Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave.: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm

East Madison Community Center, 8 Straubel Ct.: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Madison College - Commercial Ave, 2125 Commercial Ave.: Monday, March 29, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm; Wednesday, March 31, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm; Friday, April 2, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Madison College - Goodman South Campus, 2429 Perry St.: Monday, March 29, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm; Wednesday, March 31, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm; Friday, April 2, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

UW-Madison Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.: Weekdays, March 23 - April 2, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

Edgewood College – Predolin Commons, 959 Edgewood College Dr.L Weekdays, March 29 - April 1, 11:00 am - 2:00pm

Several offices are up for election on April 6:

• State Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Dane County Circuit Court Judge: Branches 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, & 17
• Dane County Executive
• Dane County Board Supervisor: Districts 4 & 12
• City of Madison Municipal Judge
• City of Madison Alderperson: Districts 1 – 20
• Board Member: all school districts within the City of Madison boundary

• Madison: Seats 1 & 2
• McFarland
• Sun Prairie
• DeForest: Village of DeForest, Towns of Vienna & Leeds, At-Large
• Waunakee: Town of Westport, Town of Vienna
• Verona: Portion 1, At-Large
• Middleton/Cross Plains: Areas II, IV, V
• Monona Grove

There will also be four (4) advisory referendum questions on the ballot. These questions are non-binding, which means implementation of these actions or policies will require further action by the Common Council or the electorate.

1. Madison currently has a part-time Common Council who are paid approximately thirteen-thousand seven hundred ($13,700) per year. Beginning with the 2023 Spring Election, SHOULD the City of Madison transition to a full-time Common Council with each Common Council Member earning between fifty percent (50%) to eighty percent (80%) of the Adjusted Median Income for Dane County for a single parent with two children (approximately $45,000 to $71,000) per year? Yes or no.
2. Madison currently has a part-time Common Council comprised of twenty (20) alderpersons, one from each alderperson district. Beginning with the 2023 Spring Election, SHOULD the size of the City of Madison Common Council: be reduced? be increased? remain the same?
3. Madison alderpersons are currently elected to two (2) year terms. The Madison Mayor is currently elected to four (4) year terms. Beginning with the 2023 Spring Election, SHOULD City of Madison alderpersons be elected to four (4) year terms? Yes or no
4. Madison alderpersons are currently not subject to term limits. Beginning with the 2023 Spring Election, if the City transitions to a full-time Common Council SHOULD the City of Madison alderpersons be subject to term limits of twelve (12) consecutive years? yes or no

All city of Madison voters will see the same races for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dane County Circuit Court Branches, Dane County Executive, and Municipal Judge. The same four advisory referendum questions will also be on every ballot. You can view a map of Dane County Board District 12 pdf  and a map of District 4 pdf  on the Dane County Board of Supervisors website.

The city of Madison Assessor’s Office website allows you to find out what Aldermanic district and school district you live in. Search by your address on the Property Look-up page. Your Aldermanic district will be listed under “City Hall,” and your school district will be listed under “School Details.”

You will be able to view a sample ballot for your address on the MyVote Wisconsin website.

media release/March 16: The city of Madison’s secure ballot drop boxes are now open for the April 6 Spring Election. The boxes provide a secure way for Madison absentee voters to return their ballots to the City Clerk’s Office. If you requested an absentee ballot for the Apr. 6, 2021, Spring Election, you should see it in your mailbox in the next few days. Follow the instructions included with your absentee ballot to make sure your ballot is counted.

Once you vote your ballot and seal it in the completed certificate envelope, you can drop it in the secure drop box closest to you. You also have the option of returning it by mail or dropping it off in person at the City Clerk’s Office, at an in-person absentee voting site when they open Mar. 23, or at your polling place on Election Day.

The City Clerk’s Office has a secure procedure for the retrieval of ballots from the 14 drop boxes located at 13 City fire stations and Elver Park.

• Two sworn election officials retrieve the ballots from their assigned location.
• Election officials secure the ballots in a ballot bag with a tamper-evident seal. The seal number is written on the chain of custody form.
• By completing and signing the chain of custody, the election officials affirm the following (which is printed on the chain of custody form):

• We understand that we would be subject to applicable civil or criminal penalties if he/she failed to comply with State Statute 12.13. Under this State Statute, “No person may...Willfully or negligently fail to deliver, after having undertaken to do so, official ballots prepared for an election to the proper person, or prevent their delivery within the required time, or destroy or conceal the ballots.”

• The election official teams will collect ballots Mar. 16 – Apr. 5 between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
• On Apr. 5, teams will begin collecting ballots from the drop boxes at 5:00pm. Once they have gathered all the ballots from a box, they will close and lock the drop box slots.
• Once teams have retrieved ballots from their assigned locations they will return to the Clerk’s Office immediately with the ballots. Clerk’s Office staff will confirm the information on the chain of custody form.

If you are a voter who is registered in a municipality other than the City of Madison, please contact your municipal clerk to find out how to return your absentee ballot. You can find your municipal clerk information by visiting the MyVote Wisconsin website .

The full list of ballot drop box locations is below.

• Fire Station 1: 316 W Dayton St
• Fire Station 2: 421 Grand Canyon Dr
• Fire Station 3: 1217 Williamson St
• Fire Station 4: 1437 Monroe St
• Fire Station 5: 4418 Cottage Grove Rd
• Fire Station 6: 825 W Badger Rd
• Fire Station 8: 3945 Lien Rd
• Fire Station 9: 201 N Midvale Blvd
• Fire Station 10: 1517 Troy Dr
• Fire Station 11: 4011 Morgan Way
• Fire Station 12: 400 South Point Rd
• Fire Station 13: 6350 Town Center Dr
• Fire Station 14: 3201 Dairy Dr
• Elver Park Shelter: 1250 McKenna Blvd

media release: The city of Madison has two elections scheduled in 2021. The Spring Primary will take place on Feb. 16, 2021, and the Spring Election will occur on Apr. 6, 2021. The City of Madison Clerk’s Office suggests you request your absentee ballots now if voting absentee by mail is in your voting plan for 2021.

Wisconsin voters can request absentee ballots for each individual election or for all elections in the current calendar year.

You can request your absentee ballot on the MyVote Wisconsin website . The site will prompt you to provide an acceptable photo ID if the City Clerk’s Office does not already have it on file. Voters who do not have an ID on file already have either:

1. not requested an absentee ballot in the past; or,
2. they have moved or updated their name.

As a Madison voter, you can also mail or email your request to the City Clerk’s Office. The information needed in the request is:

• Name
• Madison address
• Address to which the ballot should be mailed
• Copy of voter ID, if not already on file in Clerk’s Office

Send the request via email to voting@cityofmadison.com, or mail the request to:

City Clerk's Office

210 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd

Room 103

Madison, WI 53703

From the Wisconsin Elections Commission: The Wisconsin Elections Commission today released its list of the top things Wisconsin voters should know for the Spring Election on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.

1. The Wisconsin Elections Commission continues to recommend all voters wear face coverings for voting on Election Day, but they are not required. The WEC has developed public health guidance with the assistance of public health officials from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services that face coverings are recommended for use by voters, poll workers and observers on Election Day. Voters cannot be refused a ballot for not wearing a face covering at the polls on Election Day.

“Even though people are being vaccinated now, we still ask voters to observe social distancing inside and outside of polling places, and not to create disturbances about wearing or not wearing face coverings,” said Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin’s chief elections official.

2. Wisconsin polling places are prepared for voting during the pandemic. Things may look a little different when you go vote and voters will be asked to wash or sanitize their hands before and after voting.  Social distancing is essential even at polling places on Election Day.  There will be procedures in place to allow for six feet between voters, poll workers, and observers to ensure a safe voting experience for everyone. For more information about voting during the pandemic, please visit the WEC’s COVID-19 information page: https://elections.wi.gov/covid-19.

3. In-person absentee voting starts Tuesday, March 23. The first day that clerks may offer in-person absentee voting in their offices and other designated locations is Tuesday, March 23.  The last possible day for in-person absentee voting is Sunday, April 4.  To learn where and when you can vote absentee in-person your municipality, please visit https://MyVote.WI.gov. In some smaller communities, voters may need to make appointments with their municipal clerk’s office.

4. Voters who received their absentee by mail should make plans to return ballots to their clerk’s office as soon as possible, including arrangements to drop them off by Election Day. USPS advises that it can take up to one week for mail to be delivered, so voters who still need to return absentee ballots should drop them off at their municipal clerk’s office as soon as possible, Wolfe said.  Some municipalities offer secure drop boxes, and voters can find locations by visiting https://MyVote.wi.gov, by using the absentee tracking feature and the Find My Local Absentee Options on their personal voter information page.

On Election Day, most voters may deliver their absentee ballots directly to their normal polling place, but it must arrive before polls close at 8 p.m.  Voters in 39 cities, villages or towns that count absentee ballots at a central location must return ballots to their clerk’s office or the central count location.  Please follow the return instructions that came with your absentee ballot.  Voters who return absentee ballots to their clerk’s office or a municipal drop box on Election Day should do so as early as possible, because the ballot must be picked up and delivered to the polling place by 8 p.m.

Any voter who has not returned their absentee ballot is still eligible to vote in person on election day.

5. You need an acceptable photo ID to vote, but your ID for voting does not need to show your current address or have a star on it. Your acceptable photo ID for voting does not need to show your current address.  Wolfe said most voters already have the photo ID they need to vote, such as a Wisconsin Driver License or ID, and urged anyone with questions to visit the Bring It to the Ballot website (https://bringit.wi.gov) or call 1-866-VOTE-WIS for information.  A voter who does not have an acceptable photo ID must be offered a provisional ballot and the opportunity to submit a photo ID within three days after the election.

Voters without an acceptable photo ID can get one for free with one visit to their local Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles office. For more information, call 608-266-1069.

Wisconsin voters with a driver license or state ID card do not need to worry about whether their ID has a “REAL ID” star in the corner to be used as photo ID for voting.  A photo ID with the star may be needed to board an airplane or enter federal buildings, but it is not required for voting.

Also, voters over the age of 60 who use a Wisconsin driver license do not need to worry if they have not been able to renew their ID due to the pandemic. The DMV has extended the expiration date for people 60 and over whose driver license expired after March 12, 2020, until May 21, 2021.  That means voters can still use their Wisconsin driver license for photo ID as it’s not technically expired.

6. Voters can find their polling place on the mobile-friendly MyVote Wisconsin website. Your polling place may have changed from the location you voted at previously.  Some local election officials have chosen larger spaces to better accomplish social distancing or have consolidated wards for the lower turnout spring elections.  The Wisconsin Elections Commission’s popular MyVote Wisconsin website, https://myvote.wi.gov, allows you to verify your polling place and provides directions to every polling place in the state, as well as information about what will be on voters’ ballots when they get there.

Voters can also check whether their registration is current.  If it’s not, they can start the voter registration process online, print their filled-out voter registration form and bring it to the polls with them on Election Day so they can sign it in front of a poll worker. Voters can also complete a paper registration form at their polling place on Election Day.  If you are registering to vote, remember you will need to show a proof of residence document with your current name and address on it.  Proof of residence can be a government document, like a Wisconsin ID card, or a document like a bank statement or utility bill.  You can show your proof of residence document either in paper form, or electronically on your phone or mobile device.  For details, check out the Voter Registration Guide: https://elections.wi.gov/voters/first-time-registration-guide.

7. Your vote is secure. Wisconsin’s election systems are secure thanks to the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s strong partnerships with federal and state agencies and local election officials.

“The WEC has found no evidence that Wisconsin’s election systems have ever been compromised,” said Wolfe. “We have taken extraordinary steps to ensure that our voter registration and vote counting systems are secure and have many redundancies to protect and backup voter data.”

Rumors, or misleading information about elections security are prevalent. Voters should ensure that they are getting the facts about elections from the official source- your local and state election official.

Voters with questions about election security can read more about the WEC’s efforts here: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/security and https://elections.wi.gov/absentee.

Other Basics:

• Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6.
• Turnout for a Spring Election in April is typically about 20% to 25% of voting-age adults.  This does not include the years with Presidential Preference Primaries.  More information about voter turnout is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/statistics.