Absentee Ballots are in the Mail

Absentee ballots for the November 5 General Election have been sent to 25,655 City of Madison absentee voters with requests on file.

"It is not too early to request your ballot if you plan to vote by mail," said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. "This is one of the most important elections of our lifetime and it is so important to make every vote count, regardless of who you are voting for. Voting by mail is an easy, convenient and safe way for many voters to make their voice heard during elections; I encourage interested voters to request their absentee ballots now if they have not yet done so."

The state deadline for counties to deliver ballots to municipal clerks is 48 days before the election. The state deadline for municipalities to mail ballots to voters with requests on file is 47 days before the election. Even when the county has delivered ballots a day or two early, the City of Madison has had to bring in up to 100 poll workers to meet the mailing deadline.

This is the first election that the Madison City Clerk's Office is using a BlueCrest inserter for mailing absentees. The inserter was purchased with grant funds prior to the April Election. It will reduce human error in labeling absentee envelopes and checking that every absentee voter gets the correct ballot.

Absentee ballots must be returned early enough for the Clerk's Office to deliver them to the polls to be counted on Election Day. Postmarks do not count.

Each highlighted section on the envelope must be completed. The absentee envelope needs to be:

• Sealed
• Signed by the voter
• Signed by the voter's witness
• Complete with the printed name of the voter's witness
• Filled out with the witness' address

In-person absentee voting begins Tuesday, October 22.

The goal of the City Clerk's Office is that each eligible voter will be able to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted.

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