Election Day Tips, COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard, Pumpkin Composting, Digital Literacy and Proposed Development at University Research Park

The City of Madison Clerk's Office would like voters to know ten things for this Tuesday's election:

1. Some polling places have changed since the last Presidential Election.  To verify your polling location, visit myvote.wi.gov. I posted about District 19 changes last week.
2. If you have a question or need help, ask a poll worker.  We work to keep our elections transparent.  Poll workers are happy to answer your questions as long as the questions are not political in nature.  The Clerk's Office is available to answer your questions, too.
3. If you are in line to vote at 8:00 pm, stay in line.  A poll worker will stand at the end of the line to make sure everyone who was at the polling place before the polls closed gets an opportunity to vote.
4. Don't let a lack of Voter ID keep you from going to the polls.  Voters without acceptable ID may vote provisionally.  Provisional voters who get a copy of their ID to the Clerk's Office by 4:00 pm on Friday, Nov. 6 will have their ballot counted by the Board of Canvassers that evening.  The Dane County Voter ID Coalition can help you obtain a free Wisconsin ID.  Their hotline is (608) 285-2141.
5. The address on your Voter ID does not matter.  When checking Voter ID, poll workers are only verifying your identity.  They are not checking the address on your ID.
6. There is no requirement that your Voter ID meet federal REAL ID requirements.  If you renewed your Wisconsin driver license or Wisconsin ID and did not have all the certified documents required for a REAL ID, the DMV would have informed you that your new ID is "non-compliant" with the REAL ID Act of 2005.  Even "non-compliant" Wisconsin ID cards are acceptable for proving your identity at the polls.
7. Certain types of Voter ID can be expired.  If you are using a Wisconsin driver license, a Wisconsin ID, a U.S. passport, or a military ID to prove your identity at the polls, the ID can have an expiration date of 11/07/2018 or later.
8. Someone convicted of a felony may vote once they've served their sentence and are Off Paper.  Wisconsin restores civil rights – including voting rights – to felons who complete the terms of their sentence, including probation, parole, and/or extended supervision.  They will just need to re-register to vote at the polls with proof of address.
9. Proof of address is only needed when you are registering to vote or updating your voter registration. If you are registering to vote at the polls on Election Day, your proof of address may be shown in an electronic format, e.g., bringing up your library LINKcat account on your cell phone or showing poll workers your online utility bill. If you have changed your name, you won't need to update your voter registration until you obtain an ID with that new name.  
10. Do not hesitate to contact the Clerk's Office.  If you have a question or encounter a problem at your polling place, please let us know right away by calling (608) 266-4601. 

Other links from the Clerk's Office:

• Options for Voters with Absentee Ballots to Return
• Register to Vote at the Polls on Tuesday
• Voter ID Questions Answered
• Voter Registration Questions Answered
• COVID-19 Precautions at the Polls

Over the past 6 months City staff have been working to develop a tool to track local indicators in order better understand how our residents and community are doing throughout the pandemic. The final product from this work is an interactive dashboard with 50+ indicators organized into 9 categories. This tool has been available internally for staff since September and has just been released to the public. You can now access the dashboard by going to the City's Coronavirus website and clicking Recovery Dashboard in the right column.

There is a lot of great information being tracked through this resource. To help everyone engage with the tool, the Data and Innovation Team will release monthly digests summarizing major changes that have happened from month to month. Check out the October digest here.

The City of Madison Engineering and Streets divisions want to remind the community not to place pumpkins in the City's retention ponds and greenways after Halloween, and instead, consider composting, bringing the pumpkins and other yard waste to the City's drop-off site or placing the pumpkins out for yard waste pick-up.

In addition to pumpkins, please do not place other fall vegetation in greenways and ponds such as annuals, mums, hay bales and cornstalks. The City greenways and ponds are not the place for fall favorites, instead, please bring the eligible items to the City's drop off site or place out on the terrace for yard waste pickup. The City's yard waste webpage has information on what is and is not allowed.

Before bringing your old jack-o-lanterns to the yard waste site, remove any candles, decorations or other items that may be inside the pumpkin.

Parting with your Pumpkin: Try to Compost
If you'd like to keep your pumpkins, composting is a great option. All you'll need to get started is a compost bin, brown and green materials and a shovel. Plus, a read through the City of Madison's ordinance on compost piles. "Greens" are things like grass clippings, pumpkins or appropriate food waste that is high in nitrogen. "Browns" are things dry leaves that are high in carbon. A good rule of thumb is to add two or three "browns" for every one "green" by volume, or have more leaves than grass clippings in the pile.

Under Wisconsin law, yard materials including leaves, grass clippings and small pieces of brush/branches are prohibited from disposal in landfills.

Links

• Everyday Engineering Podcast Episode: Hello, Pumpkin! Try Composting this Fall 
• How to Compost: Booklets, Guides, Tutorials
• Yard Waste Pickup Schedule and City Drop off sites

DANEnet is offering basic computer classes for adults, covering computer essentials; topics such as basic skills, searching the internet, using email, office productivity, storing files and social media.

Classes are free and you could earn a free computer by attending at least 2 of the 5 classes listed below:

• Computer Basics (November 2 or 4)
• Using Word/Google Docs (November 9 or 11)
• Internet Basics (November 16 or 18)
• Intro to Email (November 30 or December 2)
• Troubleshooting your Computer (December 7 or 9)

More details: https://events.madisonpubliclibrary.org/events/30055/danenet-everyone-madison-computer-class

VIRTUAL NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2020 - 7:00 PM

The University Research Park (URP) and developer Mandel Group, Inc. are proposing a mixed-use development located at the southwest corner of Mineral Point Road and Whitney Way. The proposed project will incorporate elements open both to companies in URP and the surrounding community, including a food hall with events space, a fitness center featuring a climbing and bouldering gym, multifamily housing, a lab building, and a future hotel.

The site is currently zoned Suburban Employment (SE). Portions of the site will require rezoning to support the proposed uses. Further conditional use approvals are required for certain parts of the development proposal. Site development will include the construction of two new public streets.

Please join us on the evening of Monday, November 16th, at 7:00 PM for a virtual neighborhood meeting to learn more about this project. You will receive login information after registering for the meeting at https://madisonwi.link/mandelv1

Ald. Keith Furman, District 19, 608-912-0000, district19@cityofmadison.com

Ald. Zachary Henak, District 10, 608-471-2900, district10@cityofmadison.com

Ald. Arvina Martin, District 11, 608-217-7815, district11@cityofmadison.com

As always, if there is anything I can do to help, feel free to reach out: district19@cityofmadison.com

-Keith F