With 20 days remaining until this year's general election, today marks the final day Wisconsin voters can register to vote by mail.

Anyone registering after today, including at polling places on Election Day, must provide proof of residence.

The voter registration form must be postmarked by today to be accepted, but voters may still register to vote before Election Day by going to the local municipal clerk's office to fill out a registration form.

Voters registering after the deadline must show proof of residency with a document from a new list. Previously, voters could use a piece of mail to validate an address.

The new list includes Wisconsin-issued driver's licenses, residential leases, paychecks, bank statements and university-issued photo IDs for students living in university housing. Documents must prove residency of at least 10 days before Election Day.

"If you are a first-time voter in Wisconsin, you must include a copy of your proof of residence whether registering before the deadline or not," said Kyle Richmond, public information officer for the State Elections Board. "But if a copy of your proof of residence is not included when the registration is mailed, you must supply it at your polling place before you are issued a ballot."

Richmond added that first-time voters who register by today through someone with "special registration deputy status" are exempt from having to provide proof of residency. People with special registration deputy status require certification by the municipal clerk's office to perform registration work.

Registration forms postmarked by today will be entered into the Statewide Voter Registration System, and then postcards will be sent to the registrant's address to verify the registration.

"If the registrant, at a certain address, does not vote from that address for an extended time, the information will be purged from the system," Richmond added.

And along with regulations for proof of residency, federal law also requires voters who hold a Wisconsin driver's license to fill in their license number on the registration form. Voters without a license may use a state ID card number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.

According to state law signed in July, the registration period increased from 13 days before the election to 20 days. Richmond said the deadline is intended to give clerks extra time to process mailed-in applications and applications collected by groups doing registration campaigns.

Elections Board receives request

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonpartisan watchdog group, sent the Elections Board a memo Tuesday asking the board to review whether the Catholic Diocese of Madison violated state campaign-finance laws.

Mike McCabe, executive director of the WDC, charged that the organization did not register with the Elections Board before distributing fliers urging people to vote "Yes" for the marriage amendment referendum appearing on the November ballot.

"Wisconsin law requires groups that spend more than $25 to support or oppose a state referendum to register with the board," McCabe said in the memo. "We also ask the board to determine whether the diocese's express advocacy activities caused it to raise or spend more than $1,000, and if so, require the diocese to file reports detailing its fundraising and spending as required by law."

McCabe added that another religious organization supporting the referendum, the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, already registered with the board.

Richmond verified the WDC sent the memo but said it was not a formal complaint, which is needed for the board to review the issue.

"A complaint means someone is attesting that the charge in the complaint is true," Richmond said. "The Election Board staff would then look at it before giving it to the board to see when and if they want to review it."