City Clerk's Office

The Madison City Clerk’s Office would like voters to know ten things for this Tuesday’s election:

1. Make sure your ballot lists the correct school district. There are eight different school districts in the City of Madison. We intend to give you the correct ballot. If we mistakenly hand you a ballot for the wrong school district, please tell a poll worker before inserting your ballot into the tabulator. If you are unsure of your school district, you can look up your address at http://www.cityofmadison.com/assessor/.
2. The address on your Voter ID does not matter. When checking Voter ID, poll workers are only verifying your identity. They are not checking the address on your ID.
3. Don’t let a lack of Voter ID keep you from going to the polls. Voters without acceptable ID may vote provisionally. Provisional ballots are counted by the Board of Canvassers as long as provisional voters get a copy of their ID to the Clerk’s Office by 4 p.m. Friday, April 6. The Dane County Voter ID Coalition can help you obtain a free Wisconsin ID. Their hotline is 608-285-2141.
4. There is no requirement that your Voter ID meet federal REAL ID requirements. If you renewed your Wisconsin driver license or Wisconsin ID and did not have all the certified documents required for a REAL ID, the DMV would have informed you that your new ID is “non-compliant” with the REAL ID Act of 2005. Even if your Wisconsin ID says “Not for federal purposes,” it is acceptable for proving your identity at the polls.
5. Certain types of Voter ID can be expired. If you are using a Wisconsin driver license, a Wisconsin ID, a U.S. passport, or a military ID to prove your identity at the polls, the ID can have an expiration date of 11-9-2016 or later.
6. If the state inactivated your voter registration based on bad data, you won’t be required to reregister. When you state your name and address at the polls, the poll workers will look you up in the poll book. If they cannot find you in the poll book, they will check a supplemental list of voter registrations that the state inactivated based on the assumption those voters had moved. If you are on this supplemental list but still reside at the address listed, you will sign an affirmation that you haven’t moved, and the Clerk’s Office will reactivate your voter registration.
7. Proof of address is only needed when you are registering to vote or updating your voter registration. Unless you have moved since you last voted or last registered to vote, you will just need to state your name and address at the poll book, show your Voter ID, and sign the poll book. If you have changed your name, you won't need to update your voter registration until you obtain an ID with that new name.  If you are registering to vote at the polls on Election Day, your proof of address may be shown in an electronic format, e.g., bringing up your library LINKcat account on your cell phone or showing poll workers your online utility bill.
8. We need to receive your absentee ballot by Election Day in order to count it. Election officials at your polling place will insert your absentee ballot into the tabulator to be counted. If you haven’t mailed your ballot back to the Clerk’s Office yet, keep in mind that Madison mail is sorted in Milwaukee. To meet the deadline, you might want to deliver your absentee to the Clerk’s Office on Monday, or ask a friend to take your absentee envelope to your polling place on Tuesday. You can track the status of your absentee ballot by looking up your name at https://MyVote.wi.gov.
9. Some polling places have changed this year. To verify your polling location, visit www.cityofmadison.com/WhereDoIVote.
10. Do not hesitate to contact the Clerk’s Office. If you have a question or encounter a problem at your polling place, please let us know right away by calling 608-266-4601.