Friday, Nov. 4, 2022
Can a third party know the status of a Wisconsin voter’s absentee ballot?
Through the Wisconsin Elections Commission website Badger Voters, any political party or individual can pay for and access data about the status of absentee ballots, including whether a ballot was counted or disqualified. This information can be used to send out texts or calls to voters about the status of their ballot, according to a statement from the WEC sent to Wisconsin Watch.
In the case that an absentee ballot is marked as "returned to be rejected," the clerk can take two courses of action: return the ballot to the voter if there is enough time for an issue to be corrected, or have voter and witness come into the clerk's office to correct the issue, according to the WEC.
Voters can check the status of their own absentee ballots for free at the state's website, myvote.wi.gov.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- State of Wisconsin Track My Ballot
- State of Wisconsin Badger Voters Frequently Asked Questions
- DocumentCloud Wisconsin Elections Commission response to absentee ballot question
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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