Polls open in Wisconsin’s midterm elections

Polls open on Tuesday in Wisconsin’s midterm elections at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m. Anyone still in line when polls closed should remain in line and will still be able to vote. 

As of Monday afternoon, 857,764 absentee ballots had been requested and 777,739 of those had been returned. Voters still in possession of their absentee ballot shouldn’t drop it in the mail but should instead bring it in person to their polling place or their municipal clerk’s office. 

Voters who aren’t registered or need to update their registration can do so at the polls on Tuesday but will need a proof-of-residence document with their current address on it to do so. The state Department of Motor Vehicles announced it would extend its hours until 6 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday so voters can obtain a free photo ID if they need one. 

To get an ID, Wisconsin residents need a document such as a birth certificate to prove their identity and a document such as a bill or lease to prove their residency. 

The results in Tuesday’s elections will likely not be known for hours after the polls close — mostly because of the hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots, which clerks aren’t allowed to begin processing and counting until the polls open. 

In most municipalities, absentee ballots are opened and put through the voting machines at the same polling place that voters would have cast their ballot if doing so in person. But in a few dozen communities, including the state’s largest city of Milwaukee, absentee ballots are processed and counted at one central count location. 

This process means that reports of vote totals early in the evening Tuesday may not signify the eventual winner and that Milwaukee’s large amount of votes is unlikely to be reported until late. 

Information about what’s on the ballot and where to vote can be found at MyVote.WI.gov