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Absentee ballots were supposed to be available under a state law requiring they be ready 30 days before the Nov. 4 election, but Milwaukee, Madison and Oshkosh officials said they were still getting the ballots ready. Absentee voting should start today in those cities, officials said.
Absentee voting was under way in Green Bay, Racine, Kenosha, Eau Claire and Wausau on Monday, officials said.
“People have been coming in continuously to vote, but they’re not lining out the door yet,” said Laure Michael, a worker in the Green Bay clerk’s office.
Government Accountability Board director Kevin Kennedy said it’s routine for absentee ballots not to be ready on the first day they are allowed. Wisconsin’s late primary, held the second Tuesday in September, can lead to delays with vendors who print general election ballots, he said.
That wasn’t the case in Milwaukee, where workers spent Monday unpacking the ballots that arrived last week, said Neil Albrecht, assistant director of the Milwaukee Election Commission.
Voters turned away Monday were told they could get an absentee ballot in the mail or come back on a later day. In some cases, they may receive ballots by e-mail or fax when they are ready.
State officials predict up to 15 percent of Wisconsin voters will vote absentee through the mail or in person at clerk’s offices this election cycle. In 2004, a record 12 percent did so — or about 365,000 voters. Anyone can vote absentee in Wisconsin instead of at the polls.
The presidential campaigns of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are making absentee voting a priority in different ways in Wisconsin, where they are locked in a tight race.
McCain’s campaign and the Republican Party have sent hundreds of thousands of mailings to voters that include absentee ballot request forms addressed to their municipal clerks. Clerks said many of their early requests for ballots have come as a result of those mailings; ballots should be mailed starting this week.
“We’ve been pretty successful in helping boost absentee ballot applications in this state,” said Mark Jefferson, executive director of the state Republican Party. “They’re up from previous years, and it’s been in large part due to our efforts.”
Obama’s campaign is focusing its efforts to get college students and campaign volunteers to vote early, spokesman Matt Lehrich said.
“This week, we’ll be making a serious effort to make sure that everybody in Wisconsin knows that absentee voting is starting,” he said. “Anyone who votes now is one person we don’t have to get to the polls on Nov. 4, and instead, they can spend time getting their friends to the polls.”
