City Clerk's Office

By law, all polling places must be accessible to voters with disabilities. Both the City of Madison and the Wisconsin Elections Commission audit our polling places for accessibility. On election morning, City of Madison poll workers use an accessibility checklist prepared by Disability Rights Wisconsin to identify and address any barriers.

Voters with health issues, mobility issues, a disability, or difficulty waiting in line may vote from the curb of their polling place. Send someone in to the polling place to notify the poll workers that you are a curbside voter. If you do not have someone to send in to the polling place, contact the Clerk’s Office at voting@cityofmadison.com or 608-266-4601 to make arrangements to vote curbside. The poll workers will check you into the poll book and announce that you will be receiving your ballot at the curb. Two poll workers will bring you a ballot, marking pen, and secrecy sleeve. Once you have marked your ballot, the two poll workers will feed your ballot into the tabulator inside the polling place, and your vote will be counted.

Voters unable to sign the poll book due to a disability are exempt from this requirement to sign or make their mark on the poll book.

Voters unable to state their name and address at the poll book may designate someone else to state their name and address.

If you need help marking your ballot, you have three options:

1. You may bring someone with you to the polling place to assist you in marking your ballot, but they cannot be your employer or your labor union representative. The person assisting you does not need to be an eligible voter. The poll workers will record the name and address of the person assisting, and the assistant will need to sign the ballot.
2. You may use the ExpressVote ballot marking device, which will mark your ballot with the selections you make on a touch screen or Braille keypad. The ExpressVote offers large print and high contrast on its touch screen, has headphones, and is compatible with sip & puff devices. You will be able to double-check your selections before the ExpressVote prints your ballot. The ballot is counted by the same tabulator that counts ballots marked by pen.
3. You may ask a poll worker to assist you in marking your ballot.

Please contact the Clerk's Office with any more questions or concerns about accessibility.