Wisconsinites living abroad will face a much easier process when they go to request an absentee ballot for the upcoming November elections. Reid Magney with the state Government Accountability Board says that’s thanks to the agency’s new “My Vote WI” website, which allows active duty military personnel and Wisconsin residents currently living overseas to ask for a ballot directly from the state.
Previously, those voters would have to look up contact information for the clerk in their home district, send in a ballot request, and then have one mailed to them or sent electronically. Using the new GAB site, those voters will be able to have a ballot in minutes that they can print off of their computer.
Ballots must still be mailed in to the clerk. They must be postmarked by Election Day and received by 5 p.m. on the following Friday. Magney says it’s best to get them in the mail earlier than on Election Day to make sure your vote is counted.
The online ballot request system was created using a $1.9 million grant from the federal government.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:09)