Wisconsin voters began casting ballots in person as absentees Tuesday ahead of the Nov. 3 general election with solid turnout expected across the state.
The early voting window runs through Sunday, Nov. 1. Voters must show an acceptable photo ID when requesting and casting a ballot at a clerk’s office or other designated site. Details on hours, locations and registration options are available at myvote.wi.gov.
As of Monday morning, the Wisconsin Elections Commission reported 364,888 absentee ballots requested statewide and 173,164 returned. Those figures lag the same point in the 2022 midterm cycle, when 438,673 had been requested and 195,287 returned.
Election officials said the slower pace of mail absentee requests and returns suggests higher interest in in-person absentee voting this year. Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe has urged clerks to prepare for potentially heavier early voting turnout and has recommended that voters planning to mail ballots do so promptly.
In the 2022 general election, roughly 742,000 absentee ballots (mail and in-person) had been returned by Election Day morning, according to commission data reported at the time, with final figures showing about 426,000 mail ballots and 332,000 in-person early ballots counted. In the 2024 presidential election, final Wisconsin Elections Commission figures showed 1,559,454 total absentee ballots returned, including 957,641 cast in person.
About 2.6 million people voted in Wisconsin in the 2022 midterms; officials have said they expect similar overall turnout this year. The Nov. 3 ballot features the open race for governor between Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, along with contests for the state Legislature, U.S. House seats, attorney general and other offices, plus three constitutional amendments.
Voters can still request mailed absentee ballots until 5 p.m. Oct. 29 for most electors (later for some military and indefinitely confined voters). Ballots can also be returned in person to clerks’ offices or, in municipalities that use them, secure drop boxes. Same-day registration is available at the polls on Election Day with proof of residence.
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