MADISON, Wis. — After a year and a half of campaigning, Election Day is finally here on Tuesday.
Whether you’ve already dropped off your ballot or you’re getting ready to go in person, election officials have reminders for voters to help keep our elections safe, accurate and secure.
If you’ve already turned in your ballot – through the mail, a drop box, or in person – you cannot vote in person.
If you try poll workers will ask you if you’ve already returned, not just requested, an absentee ballot.
“If later in the day they come across your absentee ballot, that ballot would be rejected,” said Maribeth Witzel-Behl, the Madison city clerk. “But then after Election Day that absentee envelope, the copy of the page of the poll book, would be forwarded to the district attorney for investigation.”
You could then be charged with a class I felony for election fraud. If convicted you could face a $10,000 fine, 3.5 years in prison, or both.
This applies even if you aren’t sure the clerk got your ballot back.
If there is an error preventing yours from being counted, such as a missing signature or address, you can correct it at the polls.
“Technically the voter does have until 8 p.m. they could show up at the polling place with their original witness to get that all corrected, but they can’t at that point on Election Day say, ‘Never mind, I’ll just vote in person,’” Witzel-Behl said. “The fact that they returned that absentee ballot means their vote has been cast, and they can’t vote at the polls on Election Day.”
If you want to go in person, bring a Wisconsin ID.
The Madison clerk wants to remind you that the address does not have to be current; it can be expired – so long as it expired after Nov. 6 2018. It also doesn’t have to be a “REAL ID.”
“If you’re in doubt on if your ID is going to be OK, still show up to vote because you do have options and quite often people who think their id is no good actually have an id that is legitimate for voter id,” Witzel-Behl said.
Attorney General Josh Kaul also reminded voters that since counting can’t begin until Tuesday, it may take a few days to get results.
“That’s not a sign that anything has gone wrong,” Kaul said. “It’s a sign that clerks are following the law and making sure to count every ballot.”
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