Email the Wisconsin Elections Commission! Support Mailing Absentee Ballots to All Registered Voters.
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During the April election, Wisconsin forced people to choose between their health and their right to vote. The heartbreaking stories from voters who never received their absentee ballots or stood for hours outside of crowded polling places makes it clear that we can never again allow this mistake to be repeated.
At last week's meeting, the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) reviewed the results from the April 7th election and began to plan how to best serve all Wisconsinites with an improved election process. The WEC began discussions of multiple proposals to send absentee applications to voters. LWVWI supports the staff’s proposal to send absentee ballot applications to all registered voters without an active absentee ballot request.
The WEC will vote on this proposal and many others on Wednesday, and it is extremely important that they hear your voice in support of mailing absentee ballot applications to ALL registered voters without active absentee ballot applications. Email the WEC now!
This proposal would not require an all-mail election, but it would go a long way toward ensuring every Wisconsin voter knows their options for safely casting a ballot in the upcoming August and November elections. Having the Wisconsin Elections Commission implement this process will provide a consistent statewide process, and will also be more cost effective than a fragmented local approach.
So, let your voice be heard – email the Wisconsin Election Commission NOW and ask them to protect the right to vote by sending absentee ballot applications to all registered voters without active absentee ballot applications.
Send the email to elections@wi.gov and put “Message to Commissioners” in the subject line. We have an example email you can use below.
THANK YOU
After emailing the WEC, LWVWI would really appreciate it if you would email lwvwisconsin@lwvwi.org with the words I DID IT.
Example email:
Dear Wisconsin Elections Commissioners,
The April election forced many people to choose between their health and their right to vote. It was disappointing to hear about the many people who were unable to request an absentee ballot because they lacked access to technology or never received their absentee ballot. Access to absentee voting is a nonpartisan issue with broad public support.
I was heartened to hear about the WEC staff’s recommendations to mail every registered voter who does not have an active absentee ballot request on file information on how to apply for an absentee ballot and instructions for uploading or sending a copy of the voter’s ID. I urge the commissioners to adopt the staff plan as it was proposed and to send absentee ballot applications to people regardless of their municipality. I believe that all voters in the state of Wisconsin should receive this information in a consistent manner in order to ensure that they have the information that they need in order to be able to vote safely from home.
I also appreciate the WEC staff’s willingness to support clerks by following-up with individuals who do not include their ID with the absentee ballot application. Despite the many challenges they’ve faced during the pandemic, our clerks have done a noteworthy job running elections and need support. I greatly appreciate the WEC staff plan that would provide needed support to our local municipal clerks while also ensuring that all registered voters receive an absentee ballot application.
