City Clerk's Office

The August Primary comes at a time of year many Madison residents are moving. 

It takes 28 days to establish residency for voting purposes, but moving within 28 days of an election does not make you ineligible to vote.   
 
Generally, voters who move within 28 days of an election will need to vote at their old polling place.  At the poll book, they will announce their name and the address from which they just moved.  These voters remain eligible to vote from their former address until they establish residency at their new address by residing there for 28 days.

Students attending UW-Madison or Edgewood College choose between registering to vote at their campus address or at their parents’ home address.  This is an individual decision.

Students who choose Madison as their voting residence are not likely to be in their housing for the 2020-2021 school year 28 days before the August Primary. Generally, if the student lived here last semester, their voting address for August would be where they lived for the 2020 spring semester. 

If you are unsure whether you should vote from your old or new address, Clerk’s Office staff can help you figure that out either in the Clerk’s Office or at any of our in-person absentee voting sites.

Freshmen are unlikely to move to campus early enough to establish residency for the August Primary.  If they are 18 years old by August 11, they would be eligible to register and vote from their parents’ address.

Voters with questions about establishing residency are encouraged to contact the Clerk’s Office at voting@cityofmadison.com or (608) 266-4601.