Partisan Primary (8/11/2020) Voting News and Tips

Sharing some resources from the Clerk's office about Tuesday's election:

• District 19 Voting Locations
• Moved Recently? Determining Where to Vote for the Partisan Primary
• Register to Vote at the Polls on Tuesday
• Options for Voters with Absentee Ballots to Return
• COVID-19 Precautions at the Polls

The City of Madison will operate 86 polling locations for the August 11 Partisan Primary Election. In ordinary times, the City of Madison would have 89 polling locations in August.

There are TWO new voting locations for District 19 compared to April.

Unfortunately the Clerk's office wasn't able to get postcards out before the August 11th election to let people know about the changes to their polling locations.

The City Clerk's Office would like to express its deep gratitude to the community partners that stepped up to offer space for voters to safely exercise their right to vote, the community partners that returned to host polling locations since April, and the community partners that continued hosting polling locations throughout this pandemic.

Voters are encourage to verify their polling location at www.cityofmadison.com/WhereDoIVote or myvote.wi.gov/en-US/FindMyPollingPlace before heading to the polls on Election Day.

City of Madison polling locations for District 19 August 11 are listed below:

Ward 86 - Asbury United Methodist Church, 6101 University Avenue
Ward 87 - John Muir Elementary School, 6602 Inner Drive
Ward 88 - Alicia Ashman Library, 733 N High Point Road
Ward 89 - Schwoegler Park Towne Lanes, 444 Grand Canyon Drive (NEW as of 8/11/2020 election; previously Oakwood Village)
Ward 90, 104, 117, 141 - University Research Park Accelerator, 5602 Research Park Blvd (NEW as of 8/11/2020 election due to a very last minute change by Madison Ice Arena)

The August Primary comes at a time of year many Madison residents are moving. 

It takes 28 days to establish residency for voting purposes, but moving within 28 days of an election does not make you ineligible to vote.   
 
Generally, voters who move within 28 days of an election will need to vote at their old polling place.  At the poll book, they will announce their name and the address from which they just moved.  These voters remain eligible to vote from their former address until they establish residency at their new address by residing there for 28 days.

Students attending UW-Madison or Edgewood College choose between registering to vote at their campus address or at their parents' home address.  This is an individual decision.

Students who choose Madison as their voting residence are not likely to be in their housing for the 2020-2021 school year 28 days before the August Primary. Generally, if the student lived here last semester, their voting address for August would be where they lived for the 2020 spring semester. 

If you are unsure whether you should vote from your old or new address, Clerk's Office staff can help you figure that out either in the Clerk's Office or at any of our in-person absentee voting sites.

Freshmen are unlikely to move to campus early enough to establish residency for the August Primary.  If they are 18 years old by August 11, they would be eligible to register and vote from their parents' address.

Voters with questions about establishing residency are encouraged to contact the Clerk's Office at voting@cityofmadison.com or (608) 266-4601.

Although voter registration is not available the Saturday, Sunday, or Monday before an election, voters are able to register at the polls on Election Day.

Voters may verify their registration at https://MyVote.wi.gov. Anyone who moved after July 14 – even to a new apartment in the same building – will need to update their voter registration. Voters who moved within 28 days of the primary will not have been at their new address long enough to establish residency for voting purposes, and will only be eligible to vote at the polling location for their previous address.

Proof of address will be required when registering to vote and it may be electronic.  Any of the following documents can be used as proof of address as long the name and address on the document correspond to the name and address on the voter registration form:

• Utility bill issued in the last 90 days (water, gas, electric, phone, cable, or internet)
• Bank statement (bank, credit union, credit card, mortgage)
• Current and valid Wisconsin driver license/ID
• Government document (federal, state, county, municipal, tribal, UW, Madison College, or public school)
• Paycheck
• Residential lease effective on day of registration (cannot be used if registering to vote by mail)
• Certified housing list from UW-Madison or Edgewood College (available at absentee voting sites and at the polls)
• Affidavit from a social service agency providing services to the homeless
• Contract or intake document from a nursing home or residential care facility

To determine your polling location, visit www.cityofmadison.com/WhereDoIVote.  To see the candidates that will be listed on your ballot, visit https://MyVote.wi.gov.

As of Saturday morning, 40% of Absentees Yet to be Returned

Election officials are only able to count absentee ballots that are received by Election Day, per state law. Voters who have yet to return an absentee ballot to the Clerk's Office have three options:

1. Drop off the absentee ballot at the City Clerk's Office on Monday, August 10, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
2. Drop off the absentee ballot at the voter's polling location on Election Day between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Many polling locations have changed due to the pandemic.  Voters may verify their polling location for Tuesday's election at www.cityofmadison.com/WhereDoIVote.
3. Destroy the absentee received in the mail, and vote at the polls on Election Day. Many polling locations have changed due to the pandemic.  Voters may verify their polling location for Tuesday's election at www.cityofmadison.com/WhereDoIVote.

Voters may have a friend or family member deliver their absentee to an absentee voting site, a ballot drop-off site, or the polls.

The absentee envelope must have the voter's signature, the signature of a witness, and the witness' address. It is acceptable to have a spouse or family member sign as the witness as long as they are an adult U.S. citizen who is not a candidate on the ballot.

As of Saturday morning, the City Clerk's Office had issued 72,681 absentee ballots for the Partisan Primary Election. The Clerk's Office has only received 60 percent (43,272) of those ballots back.

Voters may track the status of their absentee ballot at https://MyVote.wi.gov.

The City of Madison is taking precautions to make Tuesday's Partisan Primary Election safe and accessible.

Thanks to community partners stepping up to offer space for voting, the city will have twenty more polling locations than it had in April. The additional polling locations will minimize lines and facilitate social distancing throughout the city. Before heading to the polls, voters are encouraged to verify their polling location at www.cityofmadison.com/WhereDoIVote.

There are 1,112 poll workers scheduled to work on Tuesday morning, and 1,172 poll workers scheduled to work in the afternoon and evening. Poll workers will use health-screening questions provided by Public Health Madison & Dane County to determine whether they are able to work on Tuesday, and will cancel their shift if any of the following apply:

• Fever in the past 72 hours
• Fever-reducing medication in the past 72 hours
• Chills or body aches within the past 72 hours
• A cough within the past week
• Difficulty breathing in the past week
• Sore throat in the past week
• Cold-like or flu-like symptoms in the past week

Curbside voting will be available at all polling locations, as always, for voters with health concerns. A team of poll workers wearing safety vests will be watching for curbside voters near a large feather flag that says Vote Here. If a curbside voter wishes to use their own ballpoint pen, they should wave the pen at the poll worker approaching their vehicle. Poll workers will check the voter's ID through the car window. If a curbside voter needs to register, poll workers will be able to check the voter's proof of address through the car window. The voter will mark their ballot in their vehicle, and poll workers will insert the ballot into the tabulator to be counted.

Signage will encourage anyone with the following symptoms (or in close contact with someone who has the following symptoms) to vote curbside:

• Shortness of breath
• Cough
• Fever
• Nasal congestion
• Sore throat
• Achiness

Additional signage will promote wearing facial coverings in the polling place, encourage social distancing, and alert voters that poll workers may be using latex gloves.

Each polling location will have hand sanitizer available for voters and poll workers. Everyone should avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands or with gloves. Hand sanitizer will be kept away from the ballot table because wet ballots shred in the tabulator.

Voters are encouraged wear face masks. Poll workers will offer hand sanitizer to voters entering and exiting the polling place. The floor will be marked with painter's tape to help voters maintain six feet of social distancing while in line. Due to the need for social distancing, even a short line of voters could extend outside of the room where voting takes place.

All poll workers will be wearing face masks. The city will provide its poll workers with face masks, but poll workers may wear their own mask from home as long as it does not have a political or vulgar design.

Every hour, poll workers at the ballot table will announce a reminder to practice social distancing. Each polling location has an hourly safety checklist that will be used to verify that all poll workers are wearing a face mask over their mouth and nose.
Plexiglas screens will offer additional protection at stations where voters and poll workers interact within six feet of each other. Poll workers checking voter ID will compare the voter's eyes with the image on the voter's ID. Poll workers checking voter ID will not ask voters to remove their face masks.

When selecting a voting booth, voters should stay at least six feet away from other voters who are not members of their own household.

Poll workers will disinfect voting booths, pens, and touchscreens after each use. They will also continuously disinfect high-touch surfaces. Doors will be propped open where possible.

Voters may use their own blue or black ballpoint pens to sign the poll book and mark their ballot. Voters who need to register to vote on Election Day can minimize the amount of time they need to spend at the polls by bringing a completed voter registration form with them to the polls.

Voters who still need to return their absentee ballot may deliver it to their polling location or have a friend, neighbor or family member deliver their ballot to the polls. The ballot must be sealed in its certificate envelope bearing the voter's signature, the signature of a witness, and the witness' address. Curbside poll workers will accept the absentee envelope and take it into the polling place to be processed.

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

-Keith F