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Absentee voting underway in Waukesha

Posted at 11:00 AM, Oct 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-24 13:27:20-04

Absentee voting is underway in Waukesha.

Municipalities across Wisconsin can now set their own hours and dates for such voting due to a recent federal court ruling.

To register, check your voting registration status, request a ballot through the mail, or find out when and where you can vote in person, visit MyVote.wi.gov.

Waukesha Clerk/Treasurer Gina Kozlik said she expects turnout for next month's election to be very high.

"I'm sure in many of our wards we'll see a voter turnout (percentage) in the high 90's," Kozlik said.

In 2012, roughly 1/3 of ballots cast in the City of Waukesha - about 12,000 total - were absentee.

Kozlik said roughly 8,000 of them were filled out by absentee voters in person, rather than through the mail.

This year, Kozlik said voters can pick up a ballot at the clerk's office at City Hall before heading down the hall to fill it out.

She hopes that will mean less congestion around the voting area.

"We have additional staff here, poll workers and other people, issuing ballots and just making the process a little smoother," Kozlik said.

"Typically, we have five members on the staff here, and we've at least doubled that for the next two weeks," Kozlik said.

In person, absentee voting in Waukesha runs from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at City Hall until the Friday before Election Day.

Just like at the polls on election day, voters will have to present a valid photo ID to receive a ballot.