Common Council

Final Voting Information - Election Day

Final Voting Information - Election Today

Many of you are upset. 

I get it. So am I. 

Despite yesterday's rollercoaster news, the election will be held today. Please note that absentee ballots must now either be handed in at a polling place or postmarked by 8:00 pm today to be counted.

If you have requested but not yet received your absentee ballot in the mail, you can still go to the polls and vote in person. You may bring your own black or blue ballpoint pen and wear a mask if you are able; you will not be required to remove it for identification purposes.

Poll workers will have plexiglass dividers and face shields to protect you and them.

Do not let your vote go to waste in this important election! If you're upset about yesterday's events, that's all the more reason to vote. The wise thing to do would have been to postpone, of course. Use your anger and your voting franchise to make a difference.

The 2020 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Vote will be held today, Tuesday, April 7. The City has taken extraordinary measures to make voting safe, including curbside voting at every polling place. 

If you have not had the opportunity to cast an absentee ballot, you can still vote at your assigned polling place. Previously issued absentee ballots can be witnessed and dropped off at your polling place until 8:00 p.m. today. Otherwise, absentee ballots must be postmarked by today in order to be counted. 

Absentee ballots that have been witnessed already but not yet mailed may be placed in the drop box at three libraries: Central, Pinney, and Sequoya.

The City of Madison Clerk's Office would like voters to know 12 things for this election:
 
1.  Many polling places have changed for this election.

Here are the polling places for D13 voters:

Ward 65, unchanged, Wingra School,718 Gilmore St.

Ward 66, changed to Union South, 1308 Dayton St.

Ward 67, changed to the UW Welcome Center, 21 N. Park St.

Ward 68, unchanged, Trinity United Methodist Church, 1123 Vilas Ave.

Ward 69, changed to Catholic Multicultural Center, 1862 Beld St.

 
2.  You may use your own black or blue ballpoint pen. At the public test of election equipment, the City made sure the tabulator accurately tallied ballots marked with blue or black ballpoint ink. We cannot guarantee that other colors of ink will be counted. Sharpies might bleed through the ballot and affect contests on the other side of the ballot. Gel pens do not dry fast enough, and gel gums up inside of the tabulator, causing ballot jams. If you have a pen that writes really smoothly, it is likely a gel pen, and it does not work well with our election equipment.
 
3.  Curbside voting is available. As always, voters unable to enter the polling place due to disability or illness may vote from the curb. We anticipate that curbside voting will be utilized by voters who have underlying health conditions, are at high risk for COVID-19, or may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. When you pull up to the curb of the polling place, you will see a sign posted with a number to call in order to reach the poll workers inside. Two poll workers, wearing protective face shields, will bring you a ballot that you may mark inside your vehicle. If you have your own ballpoint pen, wave the pen at the poll workers so they know you do not need a pen. Hold your Voter ID up to your window for the poll workers to check. Crack your window open just enough to receive your ballot from the poll workers. Mark your ballot, fold it, and pass it back to the poll workers through your cracked car window. The poll workers will feed your ballot into the tabulator to be counted. Two poll workers are involved in this process for accountability purposes.
 
4.  Hand sanitizer will be at the poll book table and polling place exit.Voters will be asked to sanitize their hands at the poll book table before signing the poll book. This will allow time for the voter's hands to dry before they receive their ballot. Hand sanitizer will also be available for voters to use as they exit the polling place.
 
5.  Keep your ballot dry. A chance of rain is in the forecast for Tuesday. When ballots get wet, they shred in the tabulator and can take down the tabulator for the entire day. If your ballot gets wet, whether with rain or sanitizer, ask a poll worker for a replacement ballot.
 
6.  Maintain social distancing. In the interest of public safety, we ask that all voters and poll workers practice social distancing to the greatest extent possible. If you are in line, allow six feet of space between you and the next voter. You will be interacting with poll workers through a Plexiglass screen. When selecting a voting booth to use, allow six feet of space between you and other voters. Poll workers will be disinfecting pens and voting booths after each use.
 
7.  Voters will not need to remove their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Poll workers have been instructed to verify the identity of a voter wearing a facemask by comparing the eyes in the voter's ID to the eyes of the voter before them. Poll workers should not ask voters to remove their facemasks.
 
8.  Voters who have not returned an absentee ballot may vote at the polls. Voters who received an absentee ballot but have not sent that ballot back to the Clerk's Office have the option of voting at the polls on Election Day instead. Voters who have returned their absentee ballot to be counted may not vote at the polls on Election Day.
 
9.  Election results will not be available on election night. We are currently under a federal court order to not run the election results on election night. Absentee ballots that are postmarked by Election Day, April 7, and received by April 13, at 4:00 p.m., or hand-delivered by April 7, at 8:00 p.m., will be counted by the Board of Canvassers on April 13, and the election results will be released once those ballots are counted.
 
10.  Voters may use three library book drops to return their absentee ballots. Central Library, Pinney Library and Sequoya Library have opened their book drops for voters returning their absentee ballots (sealed in the absentee certificate envelope with the voter's signature, witness signature, and witness address). The Clerk's Office will retrieve these ballots from the respective libraries at noon on Election Day. Please deliver your completed absentee ballot to your polling place after noon on Election Day. To make sure ballots are not damaged, please do not return library materials to these book drops.
 
11.  Need an absentee ballot witness? Call the Dane County Voter ID Coalition hotline at (608) 285-2141. The waiver of the absentee witness signature for voters who cannot get a witness is up in the air right now, pending a final decision of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Please make every attempt to get a witness if at all possible. If not possible, write a statement to that effect on the absentee envelope.
 
12. Do not hesitate to contact the City Clerk's Office. If you have a question or encounter a problem at your polling place, please let the Clerk's Office know right away by calling (608) 266-4601.

Lastly, I suggest we regard this entire charade as further evidence our body politic is under siege. We need to vote to provision our democracy in the same manner we go to the grocery store to provision our bodies. The City has gone to great lengths to make voting safe for voters and poll workers. If getting to your polling place is a challenge, Union Cab is offering free rides to the polls -- call 242-2000.

The polls are open until 8:00 pm.

Illegitimi non carborundum.

Be safe. Be well. Be a voter.

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