City Clerk's Office

With the Presidential Primary only six weeks away, the City of Madison Clerk’s Office asks voters to help make sure their friends and family are prepared to vote with an acceptable voter ID.

Wisconsin law specifies the forms of identification that can be used for voting purposes:

• Wisconsin driver license – may be expired as long at the expiration date is after 11/06/2018
• Citation or notice of intent to revoke or suspend Wisconsin driver license, issued within 60 days of the election
• Unexpired ID issued by the Veterans Health Administration
• Unexpired ID issued by a Wisconsin accredited university or college—must contain issuance date, student signature, and expiration date within 2 years of issuance, along with proof of current enrollment.
• ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe in Wisconsin, regardless of expiration date
• Unexpired ID receipt issued by the Wisconsin DOT through the ID Petition Process
• Unexpired Wisconsin driver license or state ID receipt
• Certificate of naturalization issued within last 2 years
• Military ID card - may be expired as long as the expiration date is after 11/06/2018
• U.S. passport - may be expired as long as the expiration date is after 11/06/2018
• Wisconsin DOT-issued photo ID card - may be expired as long as the expiration date is after 11/06/2018

The ID does not need to show a voter’s current address.  Whether the voter’s address is up-to-date with the DMV is not relevant to proving identity at the polls.

The ID does not need to comply with the federal REAL ID Act.  If a Wisconsin driver license/ID has a “not for federal purposes” notation, it is not referring to federal elections.

A driver license or state ID card from a state other than Wisconsin would not be acceptable under Wisconsin’s voter ID law. 

The Dane County Voter ID Coalition offers free help with the state ID application process, and even offers free cab rides to the DMV.  The coalition can be reached at (608) 285-2141.  This is a joint effort of the League of Women Voters of Dane County and NAACP of Dane County.

Voters confined to their home due to age or disability do not need to worry about ID if they send the Clerk’s Office a request to be placed on the permanent absentee list. The Clerk’s Office will automatically send them a ballot for every election.  The voter stays on the permanent list for as long as they continue to return ballots to be counted for each election.  The witness who signs the voter’s absentee envelope certifies that the name and address are correct for that voter.

Voters in nursing homes and residential care facilities do not need to present ID if they vote absentee when the Clerk’s Office sends Special Voting Deputies to the facility prior to Election Day.  The dates and times of Special Voting Deputy visits are posted at each facility.

Voters who are unsure whether their ID will be accepted as voter ID are encouraged to contact the Clerk’s Office at (608) 266-4601 or voting@cityofmadison.com. 

Voters who do not have an acceptable voter ID by Election Day may cast a provisional ballot at the polls.  They will have until 4:00 pm the Friday of election week to obtain an acceptable ID and present a copy of that ID to the Clerk’s Office.