Last Chance to Request Absentee Ballot

New ballot deadline is April 13. Results delayed until then.

UPDATE – MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered that Wisconsin officials withhold reporting any results from Tuesday’s election until extended absentee balloting is complete April 13.

U.S. District Judge William Conley granted a request from the Wisconsin Elections Commission following his order a day earlier for extended absentee voting. 

From grassroots groups to individual efforts to a candidate for Supreme Court, Wisconsinites are making a big last-minute push on Friday to get voters to request an absentee ballot by the end of this bonus day provided by a federal judge in light of concerns about avoiding coronavirus at polling stations next Tuesday.

District Judge William C. Conley ruled late Thursday that voters should get an extra day to request a ballot that can be mailed, and he extended the deadline to April 13 at 4 p.m. for local clerks to receive mailed ballots in order to be counted. Conley was extremely critical of the Legislature’s leadership and Gov. Tony Evers for not delaying the election or considering other measures to better ensure safety for voters and poll workers during the pandemic.

Registered voters can go to myvote.wi.gov until 5 p.m. to request that a ballot be sent to them. The same website can be used to check your registration status or to watch a video explaining the absentee ballot process.

The deadline has already passed for those who have not registered to vote, but voters can still register at the polls on Election Day with proper ID.

Requests for ballots by mail, fax or email are due by today at 5 p.m.

Supreme Court candidate and Dane County Judge Jill Karofsky released a video shortly after the judge’s ruling, urging viewers to use the link at her website to get to the MyVote page. And for those who have voted already, she asked them to spread the word to family and friends.

“Tell them there’s still time to vote absentee,” she said.

Incumbent conservative Justice Dan Kelly still has the old April 2 deadline mentioned on his website, Facebook and Twitter feeds as of Friday morning, with no new posts since the Conley ruling.

Another online site is sharing a video where a young woman somewhat sarcastically walks her mother through the process of not only requesting a ballot but checking its progress in being mailed to her. Many voters have said they had not received ballots despite making requests several days ago. Local clerks have expressed frustration with the backlog created by requests that, as of 7:30 Friday morning, numbered 1,197,472 statewide. 

Republicans have appealed Judge Conley’s ruling.