Time running out to ensure your vote counts

We are just over one week until our next election. But if you haven’t made plans to vote somehow other than in-person, time is quickly running out. In fact, Wisconsin voters who are voting absentee by mail need to act quickly. According to state law, voters have until this Thursday at 5pm to request an absentee ballot from their local clerk. But if you wait until that deadline, you risk not receiving your ballot in time to get it returned. The US Postal Service recommends allowing at least one week for a ballot to be returned by mail. Of course, you can still drop off a completed ballot in person to your local clerk, or drop it in the secure drop box outside of city hall. Or you can return the ballot to your polling place by 8pm on election day. Voting by mail has become increasingly popular throughout the pandemic. For next week’s election, more than 390,000 ballots have been requested statewide, but so far only 96,000 have been returned, so lots of people have yet to take the final steps to get their vote to count. That is why if you are voting absentee, it is important to act now. If you haven’t requested an absentee ballot, now is the time. If you have your ballot, but haven’t returned it, now is the time. Make sure your vote counts in next week’s election.