Wisconsin

Election Day Voting Hours: The 2024 General Election takes place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Polls are open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm Central Time. If you are in line before polls close, you can still vote.

All voters voting in person on Election Day must vote at their assigned polling place. 

Voters can find their polling location by entering their residential address on the find my polling place tool on the state’s MyVote Wisconsin website. Polling place information is also available through the my voter info tool on that website with the voter’s first and last names and date of birth.

See below for information on by-mail absentee voting and in-person absentee voting (early voting).

Registration Deadlines

• For registration deadlines, see How to Register below.

How to Check Your Registration: Voters can determine whether they are registered to vote at the following link: Am I Registered?.

You are eligible to vote in Wisconsin if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen
• Are a resident of Wisconsin
• Live in the precinct where you vote for at least 28 days prior to the election
• are 17 years of age and will be 18 by the next election

You are NOT eligible to vote in Wisconsin if:

• You have placed a bet or wager on the outcome of the election
• You are in prison or jail for a felony conviction
• You were disqualified from voting due to a court order

Restorative Requirements

• If you have completed a felony sentence, including any term of incarceration, parole, supervision, period of probation, or you have been pardoned, then you are immediately eligible to register to vote

You are able to pre-register:

• are 17 years of age and will be 18 by the next election

How to register 

Online Tool to Register: Persons eligible to register who have a current and valid Wisconsin driver license or Wisconsin state ID card may register online (or check their registration) using the MyVote Wisconsin website voter registration form twenty (20) days or more before the election. People can also check their registration status through MyVote.

Registration Form: Persons eligible to register may download and print a registration form from the Wisconsin Elections Commission website. Voters can also request that their municipal clerk’s office mail them the form. The registration form must be completed, signed, and either mailed or delivered in person to the voter’s municipal clerk, along with a “proof of residence” document. Mailed applications must be postmarked twenty (20) days or more before the election. An application delivered by a person other than the applicant (e.g., family member, campaign volunteer) must be delivered twenty (20) days or more before the election.

Individuals may register to vote in person at In-Person Absentee (Early) voting locations and their municipal clerk’s office until the Friday before the election.

Same day registration is available on Election Day.

Residency Requirement: To be eligible to register, Wisconsin requires persons to be a resident of their election district or ward for at least 28 consecutive days prior to the election. For the November 5, 2024 General Election, this deadline is October 8, 2024. 
For details on documentation of residence options, see the Proof of Residence Guide on Wisconsin’s Bring It to the Ballot website.

If You Want to Vote Absentee, requests may be made:

• In-Person
• By Mail
• By Fax
• By Email
• Online

Absentee Ballots may be returned:

• In-Person
• By Mail

By Mail Absentee Ballot Voting: Any registered voter may vote absentee ballot by mail. Voters may request a by-mail absentee ballot in one of the following ways:

• Online using the Vote by Absentee by Mail tool on the MyVote Wisconsin website. 
• Requesting that their municipal clerk’s office send them an absentee ballot request form, and completing and mailing, emailing, or faxing it to the clerk’s office.
• Downloading and completing an absentee ballot request form and mailing, e-mailing, or faxing it to their municipal clerk.
• Mailing, e-mailing or faxing a request to their municipal clerk. The request should include (1) the voter’s full name, (2) Wisconsin voting address, (3) the specific election (i.e. November 5, 2024 General Election) or current calendar year for which the voter wishes absentee ballot(s); and (4) mailing address; and (5) proof of identification. 

Completed ballots must be returned and received by the municipal clerk by 8:00 pm on Election Day (November 5, 2024). Voters may return their completed absentee ballot:

• By mail.
• By dropping it off at the municipal clerk’s office or other designated location before election day. Voters should contact their municipal clerk’s office to confirm location(s) and when ballots can be dropped off.
• By dropping it off on election day. Voters should contact their municipal clerk’s office to confirm where and when absentee ballots may be returned in person on election day. 

Wisconsin municipal clerks are allowed to make available secure ballot drop boxes for voters to return their completed absentee ballot. But municipal clerks are not required to do so. For absentee ballots not returned by mail, municipal clerks may choose to accept completed absentee ballots only in person during staffed hours. Voters should contact their municipal clerk’s office to confirm where and when absentee ballots can be returned in their municipality.

Wisconsin law requires that voters return their own ballots. 

However, a voter who due to a disability requires assistance with mailing or delivering their completed absentee ballot to the municipal clerk is permitted to receive such assistance from a person of the disabled voter’s choice (other than the voter’s employer or agent of that employer or officer or agent of the voter’s union). See Disability Vote Coalition (https://disabilityvote.org/) for more info.

In Person Absentee Ballot (Early) Voting: Any registered voter may vote in person absentee. Persons eligible to register may register and vote at an early voting location through the Sunday before an election depending on the timeline adopted by the particular jurisdiction. Each city, village, and town in Wisconsin is responsible for setting the dates for in-person absentee voting in their municipality within the allowed early in-person voting period. Early in-person voting may begin no earlier than 14 days before an election and must end no later than the Sunday before the election (Tuesday, October 22 to Sunday, November 3, 2024 for the November 5, 2024 General Election). You can find information on early voting locations and hours based on your residential address by using the Vote Absentee In Person lookup tool on the MyVote Wisconsin website or contacting your municipal clerk’s office.
Wisconsin Voters Living Abroad: Wisconsin’s MyVote Wisconsin website includes detailed information on voting options and FAQs for Military & Overseas Voters.

Voter Registration

To register to vote in Wisconsin, you should provide a current and valid proof of residence including:

• Your Wisconsin Driver’s License or State non-driver ID Number

If you do not have these IDs, you may provide other proof of residence that has your name and current address such as:

• Valid Student ID accompanied by tuition receipt
• Valid Student ID accompanied by on-campus housing listing that denotes US Citizenship
• Property Tax Bill or Receipt dated within the current year or within a year prior to the election date
• Utility Bill not older than 90 days
• Letter from a homeless organization verifying your residence location for purposes of voter registration
• Lease (exception: not valid for registration by mail)
• Valid Employee ID with photo
• Government Issued Document that shows your current name and address
• Valid Wisconsin issued ID
• Valid Wisconsin Driver’s License except one issued to an individual that is not a United States citizen
• Bank Statement, Paycheck or Government Check
• Verification that you are a Resident of a Group Residential Facility
• Official Notice from the Social Security Administration identifying your Social Security Number
• Public Assistance ID
• Medicare or Medicaid Card issued by the government
• Hunting or Fishing ID
• Valid Tribal ID
• Proof of Wisconsin student loan and college tuition
• Valid Wisconsin Vehicle Registration

Contact your municipal clerk if you are unsure whether your proof of residence fits requirements https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Municipal-Clerk

Voting In-Person

In Wisconsin, you need to show id to vote. The following photo ids can be used even if they expired after the most recent general election (Nov., 3, 2020):

• Valid Wisconsin Driver’s License
• Valid US Passport
• Valid ID Issued by the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles, Transportation, Highway Safety, etc.
• Valid Tribal ID
• Valid Military ID
• Valid Student ID

Student IDs must be issued by a Wisconsin accredited university or college that contains date of issuance, signature of student, and an expiration date no later than two years after date of issuance. If expired, the student ID must be accompanied by a separate document that proves current enrollment.

If you do not have an ID from the above list, you must show an unexpired photo id from this list:

• Veteran’s ID
• ID Issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
• Driving Receipt Issued by DOT not more than 45 Days before Election
• Certificate of Naturalization Dated no earlier than two years prior to the Date of the Election

You may use an ID card receipt issued by Wisconsin DOT (valid for 45 days) or a temporary ID card from the Identification Petition Process (valid for 60 days). If you need help getting ID, go to www.voteriders.org.

Wisconsin’s Bring It to the Ballot provides detailed information on the photo id requirements and what documentation can be used as ID to vote, including how to get a free photo ID for voting. Identification is required to vote in person, and which IDs can be used for voting even if they are already expired.

Identification is required to be submitted by most voters when voting by mail absentee ballot. The limited exceptions to this requirement are:

• Voters who have previously voted by absentee and provided proof of identification with that ballot do not need to include a copy of identification provided that they have not changed their name or address. 
• Voters receiving absentee ballots because they are indefinitely confined due to disability or age, or live in a nursing home or certain types of care facilities.
• Indefinitely confined voters and voters residing in facilities visited by Special Voting Deputies may choose to provide a copy of their photo ID with their absentee ballot request but are not required to. These voters do have to provide a statement verifying their name and address. 
• Qualified Military Voters and Permanent Overseas Voters are exempt from providing proof of identification when voting absentee by mail.

A registered voter who is unable or unwilling to provide proof of identification at their polling place on Election Day may request a provisional ballot. The provisional ballot will not count unless the voter either: provides proof of identification (photo ID) to poll workers before to 8:00 pm on Election Day, OR provides proof of identification (photo ID) to the municipal clerk’s office before 4:00 pm on the Friday after the election (November 8, 2024).

• If you have moved to a new address, then you will need to update your voter record by submitting a new voter registration. Wisconsin law requires that you live at your current address for 28 consecutive days before an election to be eligible to vote from your new address. 
• If you have lived at your new address for less than 28 consecutive days before the election, you are still eligible to vote from your former Wisconsin address. 
• If you have moved to Wisconsin less than 28 consecutive days before an election, you may be eligible to cast a Presidential-only ballot.

Voting Military

Service members and their dependents may register and request a ballot using the federal voter registration/ballot request form (“FPCA”). You will have the following identification options when completing the form:

• U.S. State or Territory or District Issued ID
• Option to Indicate that you do not have the Requested ID
• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number
• Your Wisconsin Driver’s License Number

Your state does not require an ID to be provided in order to request your ballot.

Voting Overseas

U.S. citizens living overseas may register and request a ballot using the overseas voter registration/ballot request form. You will have the following identification options when completing the form:

• U.S. State or Territory or District Issued ID
• Option to Indicate that you do not have the Requested ID
• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number
• Your Wisconsin Driver’s License Number

Attention Overseas Citizen Voters who are Temporarily Overseas: The Wisconsin Board of Elections states that Temporarily Overseas Voters must provide a copy of their Photo ID to their local election office in order to receive their overseas absentee ballot. Please be prepared to send a copy of a valid US photo ID, such as your US drivers license, or your US passport or other valid US photo identification to your local election office. You may send your ID together with your absentee ballot request submission, or separately to follow it. Per the My Vote WI definition: A temporarily overseas voter is a voter currently outside of the United States who intends to return, even if the return date is uncertain.

Wisconsin’s MyVote Wisconsin website includes information on voting options and FAQs for Military & Overseas Voters. The Wisconsin Elections Commission website includes a Military and Overseas Voters information page.

Military Voters: Eligible Military Voters are exempt from voter registration requirements, but still need to provide information similar to that required for voter registration in order to ensure they receive the correct ballot. Eligible Military Voters have three options available to request an absentee ballot:

• Online through MyVote Wisconsin’s absentee by mail request form; 
• By notifying their municipal clerk in writing (by mail, email or fax) that they are a Military Voter and are requesting an absentee ballot; or
• By completing a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and mailing, faxing, or emailing it to their municipal clerk. The FPCA and instructions for completing it can be accessed on the Federal Voting Assistance Program website Wisconsin page.

When a general or primary election includes federal offices on the ballot, Military Voters who are requesting an absentee ballot close to or past the regular deadline, or who may not have reliable or fast mail systems may opt to use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) to vote. The FWAB may also be used as backup if a requested regular absentee ballot has not been received in time. The MyVote Wisconsin website includes a FWAB information guide. Military Voters may request a FWAB from their municipal clerk to vote absentee until 5:00 pm on Election Day. The FWAB is available on the Federal Voting Assistance Program website Wisconsin page.

All completed by mail absentee ballots must be received by the municipal clerk by 8:00 pm on Election Day. Note: Wisconsin does not allow completed absentee ballots to be returned electronically.

Overseas Voters: Overseas voters may register to vote by downloading a registration form from the State Elections Commission website and returning it to the municipal clerk’s office where they last resided prior to moving overseas, by submitting an electronic application through the MyVote Wisconsin website, or by completing a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and mailing, faxing, or emailing it to their municipal clerk. An FPCA may be used as both a registration form and an absentee ballot request. The FPCA and instructions for completing it can be accessed on the Federal Voting Assistance Program website Wisconsin page. Permanent overseas voters (who do not intend to return to Wisconsin) are eligible to vote in federal elections only.

When a general or primary election includes federal offices on the ballot, overseas voters who are requesting an absentee ballot close to the deadline, or who may not have reliable or fast mail systems may opt to use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) to vote. The FWAB may also be used as backup by overseas voters if a requested regular absentee ballot has not been received in time. The MyVote Wisconsin website includes a FWAB information guide. The FWAB is available on the Federal Voting Assistance Program website Wisconsin page. FWAB requests by overseas voters must be received by 5:00 pm on the 5th day before an election (Thursday, October 31, 2024 for the November 5, 2024 General Election).
All completed by absentee ballots must be received by the municipal clerk by 8:00 pm on Election Day. Note: Wisconsin does not allow completed absentee ballots to be returned electronically.

• Wisconsin law disqualifies from registering to vote or voting any person convicted of a felony, treason, or bribery who is still serving a sentence (through incarceration, probation, parole, or extended supervision) for this crime.
• A person is ineligible to vote until they are pardoned for the crime or until they complete their sentence including any term of imprisonment, extended supervision, parole, or probation for the crime that led to the disqualification.
• Under Wisconsin law, when a person with a felony conviction is pardoned or completes their sentence (is “off paper”), the right to vote is automatically restored without requiring a separate hearing or procedure. Eligible persons must re-register to vote.