Nomination Papers for the 2020 General Election

The nomination paper circulation period is April 15 through June 1 for the 2020 General Election.

Candidates for County races must return their nomination papers to the County Clerk by 5:00 p.m., June 1st either by mail, delivery or intake appointment. Currently the Kenosha County Administration Building is closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To schedule an appointment with the County Clerk either call 262-653-2477 or email the County Clerk.  

Voting by Absentee

Because of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, voters in Kenosha County are strongly urged to act now to vote by absentee for the upcoming August 11 Partisan Primary and the November 3 General Election. 

There are several ways registered voters can request absentee ballots. If you have internet access, the easiest way is to sign up at MyVote Wisconsin, https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/

Just look for the "Vote Absentee" button near the top of the page. On a mobile phone, use the menu button in the upper right corner of the website. There is a three-step process that starts with putting in your name and date of birth, followed by requesting your ballot. If you don’t already have a photo ID on file with your clerk’s office, you can upload a copy. Mobile phone users can take a picture of their acceptable photo ID (not a selfie) and upload it to MyVote. Absentee ballot requests submitted this way go directly to your clerk’s office, and you can track your ballot by returning to the website.

Registered voters can also request absentee ballots by mailing, emailing or faxing their municipal clerk’s office. 

Absentee ballot request forms are available from the Wisconsin Elections Commission website in English and Spanish:

https://elections.wi.gov/forms/EL-121-english

https://elections.wi.gov/forms/EL-121-spanish

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 positions 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.