MILWAUKEE— Over the coming week every City of Milwaukee household will receive a SafeVote postcard encouraging them to vote safely from their home by requesting an absentee ballot by mail. The postcard will provide residents written and visual information on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot by using myvote.wi.gov.
“Voting safely in the November election is still possible despite the challenges of COVID-19,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “Residents can prioritize their health by registering to vote absentee by mail and using drop box centers around the city to ensure their ballot is received on time. I urge all residents to prepare early to ensure success in casting their vote in this very important election.”
Additionally, residents can visit any Milwaukee Public Library to receive assistance with the registration or absentee process. Staff are available to provide assistance Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. September 8 – October 14.
“In creating the SafeVote plan, it was important to the Election Commission to ensure that we had community partners at a neighborhood level to provide assistance to voters who might not be comfortable navigating the MyVote website or uploading a photo ID,” said Election Commission executive director Claire Woodall-Vogg. “The Election Commission and Milwaukee Public Library have always had a strong partnership. We are thankful to our library partners for furthering their commitment to voters in the midst of a pandemic.”
After receiving an absentee ballot by mail, voters will now be able to return it using one of fifteen 24-hour drop boxes across the city. Drop boxes will be located at every Milwaukee Public Library location, City Hall and the Election Commission warehouse located on S. Kinnickinnic Ave. All drop boxes have daily pick-ups, 24-hour security cameras and tamper-evident seals, among other safety features.
The Common Council’s first action as a governing body in the new term was to unanimously pass the SafeVote program, authored by Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, to empower and enable all residents in the City of Milwaukee to participate safely in the fall elections. The demand for absentee voting has increased and remained the preference of voters since the onset of COVID-19. The April 7 spring election saw 80% of voters casting a ballot via absentee.
In the August 11, 2020 partisan primary, voters continued to show a preference for absentee voting with over 70% casting an absentee ballot. To date, the Milwaukee Election Commission has received over 90,000 absentee ballot requests for the November general election.
For more information on SafeVote, contact the Election Commission via phone at (414) 286-3491 or email at voterinfo@milwaukee.gov.
