How To Register and Vote Absentee & Poll Workers Needed and 2020 Census

You can still register to vote until March 30th at My Vote Wisconsin. Once you are registered, you can request an absentee ballot by mail online at My Vote Wisconsin or by sending an email to voting@cityofmadison.com. Please include your name, address at which you are registered to vote, email address to which the ballot should be sent, and a copy or picture of your voter ID (if not already on file in the Clerk's Office). The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5:00 pm the Thursday before the election (April 2nd).

Absentee ballots must be received in the Clerk's Office in time for delivery to the polls on Election Day (April 7th).

Curbside voter registration and absentee voting is now available through April 3rd to all residents. Curbside voting is open from 8:00 AM-6:00 PM outside of 210 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.

Due to COVID-19 precautions for the April 2020 Election, the City of Madison has reserved parking meters on the 200 block of Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard for any City of Madison voter to register and/or vote from the curb.  Just pull up to a parking meter in front of the City-County Building or Madison Municipal Building with a "No Parking - Police Order sign."  If you have a cell phone, you can call the number posted on the sign at the meter to begin the curbside voting process.  Otherwise, wave at one of our election officials standing in front of the building, wearing a bright yellow vest.  Two officials will bring your ballot to your vehicle and will check your voter ID at your vehicle.  If you have your own pen to use, wave it at the officials as they approach your vehicle.  (Note, we are sanitizing clipboards and pens after each use.)

If you had the Clerk's Office mail you an absentee ballot, and you don't have a witness and need one, you may use the curbside voting process for that purpose. You can also read about other witness options here: https://cityofmadison.com/clerk/news/voters-in-need-of-a-witness

The City of Madison is in dire need of hundreds of poll workers for the April 7th election. To become a poll worker, sign up on the City of Madison Clerk's website.

The 2020 Census is incredibly important to our community. Please read this message from the Mayor:

The 2020 Census is here. As so much of our focus is appropriately on our community response to COVID-19, it remains critical that everyone who lives in Madison and Dane County completes the census and is counted. As we practice physical distancing, please take the opportunity to show social solidarity by completing the census, now, from the comfort and safety of your own home and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to do the same. You can fill it out online at my2020census.gov, by phone, or by mail. Filling out the census is an easy thing you can do right now to help everyone in our community.

Over $675 billion in federal funds are distributed every year to communities across the country based on the census. That means for every person not counted, we stand to lose over $2,000 locally per year for priorities like healthcare, affordable housing, childcare, transportation, education and more. These are resources that will prove vital in our long-term recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some populations within our community have been historically undercounted, but that does not have to be the case – even in light of the current public health emergency. Last month, I joined with leaders from throughout our community and together we pledged to promote the 2020 Census. Today, as we need to shift to electronic means of outreach, I ask all of you to join me in taking the following two actions to ensure that Madison Counts!

1. Text or call at least five friends, family members, and colleagues and encourage them to complete the census and ask them, in turn, to share the same message with at least five more people within their networks. Especially reach out to people that might be less likely to participate.
2. Post the following census message to social media and send it by email along with one or both of the "I Count" graphics included below. (The vertical version of the graphic is better for Facebook and Instagram. The horizontal version is better for Twitter.)

The 2020 Census is here! As we practice physical distancing, take the opportunity to complete the census now from the comfort of your own home. You can fill it out online atmy2020census.gov , by phone , or by mail .

Some notes when completing the census

• When filling out the census, include everyone that lives in your household.

• By law, all responses are confidential. There are no questions about citizenship or immigration status.

• Madison residents who spend their winters elsewhere and college students should all complete the census using their Madison-area address.

• There are 10 questions and it will probably take less than 10 minutes to complete the whole form.

Please help Madison and Dane County achieve a complete count by taking the census today and encouraging your friends, family, and colleagues to as well. It has never been easier to respond, whether online at my2020census.gov , by phone, or by mail – all from the comfort and safety of your home and without having to meet a census taker.

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

-Keith F