Wisconsin

The basics

REGISTER to vote before October 16 with PROOF OF RESIDENCE you should be able to get from your school (discussed in intro section below)

VOTE

  • I HAVE PASSPORT
    • VOTE with passport on election day
  • I DON’T HAVE PASSPORT
    • VOTE with a “voter compliant student ID” (not the same as a regular student ID!) from your school
  • At college in another state
    • REGISTER online with home Wisconsin address
    • VOTE by mail
  • At college in Wisconsin
    • If you are very far away from your Wisconsin ID address you may want to leave your registration there and vote by mail
    • You can update your registration address online but you will need PROOF OF RESIDENCE (discussed in intro below)
    • VOTE with your Wisconsin ID (address match only matters for registration, not voting)
  • October 16
    • deadline to register
    • (though you can register at polling place on election day with proof of residence)
  • October 22 or so
    • request your absentee mail ballot in time to receive it and send it back
  • November 5
    • Election Day

If you have lived at your Wisconsin address for 28 days prior to election to have the right to register to vote in Wisconsin. Most college students will meet this requirement. Wisconsin makes it especially difficult for college students to vote, because it requires PROOF OF RESIDENCE to register. A Wisconsin state ID will satisfy this requirement, but a college student may want to register with their college address and and not their home address. Those students, and students who do not have a WISCONSIN ID are unlikely to have most of the accepted forms of proof (utility bills, bank or credit card statement with college address, etc.) but it is still possible to REGISTER with

  • Student ID if it has a photo AND if your college submits housing information to the local municipal clerk. Not all colleges do.
  • Student ID if it has a photo AND a college fee statement issued in last nine months
  • Your campus probably has a way to make this simpler for you through the university portal system.
    • For example UW Madison interactive voting guide says “Proof of Residence (POR): POR is needed for any mailed or in-person registration. go.wisc.edu/address can be used for proof of residence; if your campus area address is not listed in your profile you can add it as your mailing or local address. City of Madison residents can take a screenshot of the address page with their name and voting address and email it to POR@cityofmadison.com“
    • Marquette has a website to guide you through the whole process https://www.marquette.edu/vote/mu-voter-id.php

Other acceptable proof of residence listed here: https://elections.wi.gov/Register#230548828-1603133318

To VOTE you need a Wisconsin state ID (address will not be checked for voting), a passport, or a voter compliant student ID from your school

Common Cause Wisconsin has list of schools and whether their IDs can be used for voting and links with how to get them here: https://www.commoncausewisconsin.org/p/the-three-things-college-students-need.html

Register by October 16

Most campuses will have some registration events. Because of the PROOF OF RESIDENCE requirement (discussed in intro above), “voter registration drives can assist people in filling out a registration application, but they cannot collect and submit a registration application unless the applicant has a photocopy of the their proof of residence and is willing to provide it to the drive volunteer for submission along with the voter registration application. As a result, conducting a successful voter registration drive has become extremely difficult in Wisconsin.”

You can register in person at your municipal clerk’s office. Find your office here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Municipal-Clerk

Some counties offer registration at other city agencies, like public libraries, for example, in Madison https://www.cityofmadison.com/clerk/elections-voting/voter-registration 

Go to myvote.wi.gov

If you have to change your address, you will also have to send PROOF OF RESIDENCE (discussed in intro above).

You can also register at your polling place on Election Day but you must bring your PROOF OF RESIDENCE (discussed in intro above)

Check voter registration status

Under its Voter List Maintenance Statute, Wisconsin removes voter registrations for those who have not voted in recent elections. If you think you are registered, be sure to check and make sure here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Update-My-Name-or-Address

VOTE

Find your polling place here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Find-My-Polling-Place

Bring your passport, voter compliant school ID, or Wisconsin state ID

Most municipalities start in person absentee ballot voting 2 weeks before Election Day. 

https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Vote-Absentee-In-Person

You are entitled to vote by absentee ballot in Wisconsin without providing a reason

Go to: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Vote-Absentee-By-Mail

You will be asked to upload a copy of your acceptable form of voter ID (Wisconsin ID, passport, voter compliant student ID from your school)

You are entitled to vote by absentee ballot in Wisconsin without providing a reason.

Request the ballot in time for it to reach you and for you to send it back by election day. At least two weeks (a week for it to get to you, a week for it to make it back).