Wisconsinites are turning out to vote this presidential election through early voting and absentee ballots.
In a report released Wednesday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission found that 567,663 Wisconsin residents returned absentee ballots as of Nov. 2. More than 75 percent of those ballots were early voting absentee ballots.
About 15 percent of the votes came from Dane County. In Madison, there are currently 14 different polling locations accepting early voters.
Reid Magney, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said it is normal for there to be higher numbers of early voters during presidential elections.
He said a lot of the political campaigns and Political Action Committees have heavily promoted early voting this year.
“A city, a village or a town could be encouraging early voting by opening additional locations like Milwaukee and Madison have,” Magney said.
Magney said a lot of people will go to avoid long lines on Election Day. He said depending on your city, there could be long lines at the clerk’s office during early voting.
Presidential campaigns make final bid to win over UW students
Eliana Locke, the press secretary for College Democrats, said early voting gives students the chance to participate around their busy schedules.
“It’s really important that students are able to vote and a lot of us aren’t able to vote on election day because we’re all super busy,” Locke said. “You can fit it into your schedule whenever you have time.”
She said it is a good way to make sure everyone’s voices are heard even if they can’t make it to the polls on Election Day.
Campaigns are stressing early voting this year, she said, especially with Wisconsin’s often complicated voter ID laws.
Magney said people who requested absentee ballots by mail need to turn in the ballots as soon as possible for the clerks to get it by Election Day.
Locke said if a person can’t make it to one of the early voting days, students should make sure they go to the polls. She said there are poll locations all throughout campus open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
