WI, USA: two absentee ballots in one envelope?

October 13, 2018 5:12 PM

Spouse and I have just filled out our absentee ballots for the Wisconsin midterm election. We've put each ballot by itself into a plain envelope, signed and witnessed the certificates, and attached the appropriate certificate to the outside of each of our ballot-containing envelopes. Now, to mail the whole lot back to the city clerk, can we put both pieces in one big envelope, or do we have to put each person's ballot package in a separate big envelope? (I suspect I'm being excessively paranoid, but one can never be too sure.)
posted by heatherlogan to Law & Government (6 answers total)

Best answer: I’m not a Wisconsin elections official, but I have been extensively trained in Wisconsin voter registration. I can’t see why this would be a problem, given that absentee ballots don’t technically need to be delivered in an envelope at all. I would be happy to call my city clerk for you on Monday, or call your clerk if you tell me where you’re mailing them to.

Thanks for voting in Wisconsin!
posted by juliapangolin at 5:30 PM on October 13, 2018 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks juliapangolin! Madison, WI is our last U.S. residence (we live abroad "indefinitely" now).
posted by heatherlogan at 5:33 PM on October 13, 2018 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I agree that one is just fine, especially here in Madison, where the clerk is absolutely fantastic (vote for her in the next April election! The April election is also essential to eventually flipping the WI Supreme Court! Please vote!) .

Once you have sorted the envelope issue, if you want to watch the status of your absentee ballot, you can follow its progress on myvote.wi.gov.
posted by rockindata at 6:16 PM on October 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I've processed absentee ballots in Madison, WI and probably will for the upcoming election too and yes, this is fine. Your question is completely reasonable! For posterity, what one must not do is place both ballots inside one of the signature/witness certificate envelopes. That's literally the only scenario where we have to reject an absentee ballot itself (instead of rejecting the envelope situation) and it's very sad.
posted by teremala at 6:46 AM on October 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you all so much!
posted by heatherlogan at 7:05 AM on October 14, 2018

Confirmed this face to face with the Madison Clerk's office today. You are 100% fine.
posted by juliapangolin at 7:45 AM on October 15, 2018 [1 favorite]