An early voting location in Madison. (Photo: Andrew Beckett)
Early voting in Madison for the November election has set a new record.
So far, the city has seen more than 32,000 ballots turned in at early voting locations and through the mail. The previous record for absentee ballots received, set during the 2012 elections, was just over 29,000. Of those submitted so far, about 27,000 have been done as in-person absentee ballots.
Madison opened absentee voting at multiple locations in late September, and Mayor Paul Soglin says there’s clearly been strong interest in the opportunity. He expects that interest to continue, and the city is assigning additional staff to help deal with possible higher turnout in the final two weeks before the November 8th election.
Interest in early voting statewide has also been strong. As of Wednesday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said nearly 328,000 absentee ballots have been turned in with clerks around the state – which is nearly half of the roughly 665,000 cast by Election Day in 2012.