Absentee ballots are ready to be sent to Wisconsin voters. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — We’re just 19 days away from the Aug. 11 Primary and ballots for the election are already coming in.
With less than three weeks to go before the primary, about 40% of absentee ballots have been returned in De Pere.
The city of De Pere said its absentee ballot return rate is right on track for what it was expecting. The city said even more will trickle in as we inch closer to Election Day.
City Clerk Carey Danen said about 1,400 ballots were sent out and more than 500 have come back.
It’s unclear if the return rate corresponds with candidates dropping out.
“It’s tough to say exactly, but I can see that that would have an impact. People wanting to take a little bit more time to make their decision because of the factors going on in the race,” Danen said.
On Thursday, three Democratic voters sued the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
They’re seeking a court order to allow people who have already submitted an absentee ballot be allowed to “spoil” and change their vote.
Earlier this month, the WEC said that would not be allowed.
“Once it’s returned, it’s returned. They don’t have that opportunity to to correct it or make changes to it. So yeah, there could be some people that are still waiting to see who’s gonna drop out so that they can vote for a candidate that is still in the running,” Fond du Lac City Clerk Margaret Hefter said.
Similarly to De Pere, Hefter said about 43% of absentee ballots have been returned so far in Fond du Lac.
She also said many may request an absentee ballot, but never fill it out.
“I think maybe half of these will still get returned and the other half… they look at the ballot, they don’t know who they want to vote for and they just don’t return it,” Hefter said.
Hefter and Danen said the current absentee ballot return rate is similar to what it was in the 2022 primary.
Danen expects more people will walk in their ballots on or near Election Day, instead of mailing it– given slower delivery challenges with the U.S. Postal Service.
“We do expect definitely the rate of return to keep going up as we get closer. The one thing I’d caution, is don’t wait too long to put it in the mail if you plan to mail it back,” Danen said.
Gov. Tony Evers and Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced Thursday they’re calling on USPS to speed up delivery as we close in on the primary.
The request comes after hundreds of ballots came in too late in the Spring election.
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