Community Corner

Greendale Absentee Voters Have More Than Doubled From Other Elections

The June 5 Scott Walker recall election has prompted a spike in absentee voters around the state and in Greendale. Greendale has more than 750 absentee voter ballots issued so far.

The number of absentee voters in Greendale has more than doubled so far for the June 5 recall election than any other election this year. This is also happening statewide.

Greendale Clerk-Treasurer Kathy Kasza said an average of 300 absentee ballots were issued in each of the February, April and May elections. Greendale has had more than 750 absentee ballots issued and had 120 in person ballots cast so far for the recall election.

As of Wednesday, at least 90,000 absentee ballots had been issued by Wisconsin’s local election officials, according to a release from the Government Accountability Board. The numbers came from officials who track ballots in the Statewide Voter Registration System.

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That is a jump from 68,000 absentee ballots that were tracked in SVRS for the May 8 recall primary. Just over one-third of municipalities track absentee ballots in SVRS, including all the state’s large cities. 

“These numbers confirm anecdotal reports we are hearing from local election officials that there is strong interest in absentee voting,” said Kevin J. Kennedy, director and general counsel of the GAB. 

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In-person absentee voting in the clerk’s office started Monday morning and runs through 5 p.m. Friday, June 1. 

Kasza would like to remind people of the following information:

  • If you request an absentee ballot and decide not to return it, and then vote at the polls on election day, you will be questioned by the poll workers about your absentee ballot. 
  • Remember to sign the certificate on the ballot return envelope and have your signature witnessed by another adult person.  If you don’t have either signature on the envelope your ballot will not be processed and your vote will not be counted.
  • Remember to have a witness sign and give their address on the ballot return envelope.  Again, missing this information will cause your ballot not to be processed and your vote will not be counted.
  • Do not keep sending in the absentee ballots request cards received in the mail if you are already a permanent absentee voter or have sent a previous request in.  This duplication causes extra work in processing absentee requests and may delay getting absentee ballots out.  

The GAB and municipal clerks around the state continue to receive complaints about absentee ballot mailers sent out by political parties and interest groups because they also contain campaign messages. This has led many people to wrongly assume that the clerk is responsible for the mailer, Kennedy said. Greendale's Clerks Office has not received any complaints.

While some of these mailers are not official absentee ballot request forms, they are permissible, and clerks must honor voters’ requests for absentee ballots made using them.

Click here for more information on absentee voting. If anyone has questions about absentee balloting, please contact the Village of Greendale Clerk-Treasurer’s Office (414) 423-2100 or email kkasza@greendale.org.


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