April 7 presidential primary: Officials anticipate '500% increase' in absentee voting amid coronavirus

Neil Albrecht

MILWAUKEE -- Ahead of the April 7 presidential primary, and amid coronavirus concerns, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Neil Albrecht on Sunday, March 15 encouraged early voting and voting by absentee ballot.

"We don't want to lose one single voter in the City of Milwaukee," said Albrecht.

Important deadlines

The in-person absentee voting schedule for the 2020 spring election is as follows:

Zeidler Municipal Building
841 N Broadway, Room 102

Midtown Center
5700 W Capitol Drive
(located west of Pick ‘n Save)

Zablocki Library
3501 W Oklahoma Ave

Monday, March 16—Sunday, April 5

Monday—Friday 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Saturday—Sunday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. (March 28 & 29 and April 4 & 5)

You will be required to show your acceptable photo ID when voting by in-person absentee ballot.

Here's how to request an absentee ballot (by April 2):

Mayor Tom Barrett

If you are not already registered, you will need to register to vote (by March 18) before an absentee ballot can be sent to you. A new voter registration application is required any time you move (even minor changes such as apartment units), change your name, or if you have not voted in the past four years.

As of Sunday, city leaders said they already received 12,000 absentee ballot requests.

"We anticipate that somewhere around 50 to 60,000 residents in this city will vote absentee by mail in this election," said Albrecht. "That represents a 500% increase."

State law requires poll workers to count those tens of thousands of absentee ballots on the day of the election -- and city leaders noted 50% of the city's poll workers are over the age of 60, the same group the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said is at an elevated risk -- leading to a call to action for young people, like high school and college students to replace the elderly at the polls.

"Many will ask, 'Who will do the work if I'm not there?'" said Mayor Barrett. "And we have to be prepared to answer that."