Wisconsin sets new early voting record

MADISON — Wisconsin election officials say nearly 800,000 people have voted early, setting a new record.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission announced that as of Monday morning, 797,740 people had returned absentee ballots to municipal clerks. That breaks the old record of 664,597 ballots returned in 2012.

Clerks have issued a total of 828,248 absentee ballots, including 650,782 ballots cast in-person in clerks' offices.

Early in-person voting ended in most municipalities Friday, November 4th and in a few cities on Saturday, November 5th and Sunday, November 6th. Mail-in absentee ballots must be returned to clerks' offices or polling places by Tuesday, November 8th to count.

The Elections Commission projects 3.1 million people will vote in the election. That translates to 69.6 percent of Wisconsin's 2016 voting-age population of 4.5 million.