More than 547K ballots cast: Wisconsin absentee voting breaks midterm record

MADISON -- The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported on Monday, Nov. 5 that more than 547,000 absentee ballots have already been returned for the Nov. 6 General Election. That breaks the record set in 2014 for a midterm election, officials say.

In a midterm election, overall turnout typically ranges from 50 to 55 percent of the voting age population, compared to 65 to 70 percent in a presidential election.

Comparable pre-election numbers for absentee voting in 2014 are not available because clerks were not required to track absentee ballots online until 2016.  Overall in 2014, there were 374,294 absentee ballots counted out of 2.42 million votes cast, which is approximately 15 percent of turnout.

Any voter with an absentee ballot who has not yet mailed it should make arrangements to have the ballot delivered to their polling place or the municipal clerk’s office by Tuesday. Voters who have cast an absentee ballot can track it on the MyVote Wisconsin website.

In-person absentee voting, also known as early voting, has ended.  Most municipal clerks had in-person absentee voting in their offices through Friday, November 2, and a few in bigger cities may have had office hours over the weekend.  Sunday was the last possible day for in-person absentee voting at the clerk’s office or other satellite voting locations.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission posts daily updates on absentee voting on its website.