All Voters are encouraged to Vote Absentee Ballot by mail

Any qualified elector who is unable or unwilling to appear at the polling place on election Day may submit a request to vote an absentee ballot to their municipal clerk. A qualified elector is any U.S. citizen, who will be 18 years of age or older on Election Day, who has resided in the ward or municipality where he or she wishes to vote for at least 10 consecutive days before the election. The elector must also be registered in order to receive an absentee ballot. Proof of identification must be provided before an absentee ballot may be issued. 

You must make a request for an absentee ballot in writing or online at  myvote.wi.gov

Contact your municipal clerk and request that an application for an absentee ballot be sent to you for the election. You may also submit a written request in the form of a letter or you may apply for an absentee ballot online at myvote.wi.gov Your written request must list your voting address within the municipality where you wish to vote, the address where the absentee ballot should be sent, if different, and your signature. You may make application to your municipal clerk for an absentee ballot by mail, by fax, by email or at myvote.wi.gov

No in-person absentee voting may occur on the day before the election. Ballots must be returned to your municipal clerk. The municipal clerk will deliver voted ballots returned on or before Election Day to the proper polling place or counting location before the polls close on April 7, 2020. Any ballots received after the polls close will not be counted.

Making application to receive an absentee ballot by mail:

The deadline for making application to receive an absentee ballot by mail is:

5:00 p.m. on the fifth day before the election, April 2, 2020

Click on the link for information and hours for in-person absentee voting in your municipality:  Municipality hours for in-person absentee voting

NEED TO REGISTER TO VOTE?
Online Voter Registration until 11:59 p.m., Monday, March 30, 2020

Please keep these things in mind:

• You must be registered to vote to request an absentee ballot.
• The deadline to register by mail to vote has passed.
• The deadline to register online to vote has been extended by federal court order until March 30.
• Voters who need to register may also do so in person at their municipal clerk’s office until the Friday before the election and on Election Day at the polling place.
• Voters should request an absentee ballot as soon as possible for April 7. The deadline is April 2, but do not wait!
• Request your absentee ballot online at https://myvote.wi.gov

Goals & Objectives

• Continue to conduct all federal, state and countywide elections in an efficient manner.
• Continue to have auctions of tax-deeded properties and return them to the tax rolls.
• Continue to provide quality services to the public.
• Continue to serve the County Board of Supervisors.

Activities

The roots of the Wisconsin Office of County Clerk go back to 14th Century England. The office was called clerk of peace and dealt with county - level courts that acted legislatively as well as judicially. These earliest clerks collected fees for the specific duties they performed. The office gradually developed in England into an office, which we would recognize as fairly similar to our own.

When Wisconsin was first a territory, the County Clerk was appointed by the County Board. Several different arrangements were used from 1836 until 1849, by which time Wisconsin had become a state. Election of the clerk of the county board of supervisors by the electors of the county began in 1849. An act of 1845 declared that the clerk of the county board of supervisors was also county clerk. The official designation of the office was changed to "County Clerk" in 1878.

The clerk holds one of the most complicated posts in Wisconsin local government. The clerk is the official record keeper for many basic county activities and meetings, county financial administration, election administration and is the local outlet for several state and federal functions such as marriage licenses applications and passport applications.

The self-image of the modern County Clerk is that of a member of the management team of the county and representative of the state in several important functions

Election

The election of the clerk is designed to maintain the responsiveness of the clerk to local interests. The general scheme of Wisconsin local government was that counties were really state-administered outposts. That idea is still important and helps to explain why the state legislature feels free to use counties as it wishes. Election of county officials avoids rigidity that might take effect if the functions were carried out by appointees of state agencies. In many counties, energetic, responsible clerks have often become the focal point for effective administration of the county. With an increasing number of counties having executives and administrators-and all counties having appointed an administrative coordinator-the setting in which many County Clerks work is quite different than it was 10 or 15 years ago. Nevertheless, the opportunity for interesting and important public service remains for those who are elected to be County Clerk.