Absentee voting underway in Wisconsin recall primaries



MILWAUKEE -- The primary elections in the Wisconsin recall races are two weeks away, but absentee voting began Monday, April 23rd. City of Milwaukee voters who prefer not to wait could cast their ballot in Wisconsin's first-ever statewide recall race.

"Usually our first Monday of absentee voting is pretty slow, but from what I understand, we've had quite a few people come in thus far, so that's a good thing," City of Milwaukee Election Commission Director Sue Edman said.

Merrie Felder was one such voter who headed in to Milwaukee's Zeidler Building downtown on Monday to cast her ballot. "I'll be in Georgia and I may not be able to get back in time, so I wanted to make sure that my vote was cast. (Voting) is very important. It's part of our family history," Felder said.

Early voting is much the same as voting on Election Day. Voters simply provide their name and address and any changes that may have occurred since the last time they voted, such as an address change.

Another reminder of note: voters can vote for one party in the gubernatorial recall election - either Democrat or Republican. If an individual votes for more than one gubernatorial candidate, his or her vote would not count.

Absentee ballots can be requested by mail from the municipal clerk's office or Election Commission office until the Thursday before the election. "All of our absentee ballots by mail will be going out Wednesday and Thursday (April 25th and 26th), so people should be seeing them in their mailbox by Friday and Saturday," Edman said.

Edman says those who don't receive their ballots by next week should call the Election Commission.

CLICK HERE for Election Commission contact information.

Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, and received by 4:00 p.m. Friday, May 11th, according to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

CLICK HERE for detailed information on upcoming election dates.

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