Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022
Does the US Postal Service recommend mailing absentee ballots in Wisconsin by Nov. 1?
The U.S. Postal Service recommends mailing completed absentee ballots by Nov. 1, a week before Election Day. It can take longer for voters with mailing addresses outside of Wisconsin.
However, Nov. 1 is not the deadline for returning absentee ballots. Absentee ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 8.
Voters who miss the mail-in deadline can bring completed absentee ballots to their local clerk's or to their polling place on Election Day.
Absentee ballot drop boxes are no longer available in Wisconsin after a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling in July. That ruling also made it illegal for someone other than the voter to deliver an absentee ballot to a clerk's office.
In August, however, a federal judge ruled voters with disabilities can receive help, except from an employer or union, with returning their ballots. Https://myvote.wi.gov/ offers details on voting absentee.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- State of Wisconsin USPS Recommended Deadline to Place Completed Ballot in the Mail
- State of Wisconsin Deadlines For 2022 Elections
- State of Wisconsin Vote Absentee Guide
- Wisconsin Public Radio Wisconsin Supreme Court rules absentee ballot drop boxes are illegal in Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Public Radio Following federal court ruling, Elections Commission says disabled voters can get voting help
- Disability Rights Wisconsin Absentee Ballot Return Assistance for the November 8th Election (9/23/2022)
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