‘Vote. Get it done’: Early voting kicks off in Wisconsin with high turnout

At least 292,702 people have already cast in-person ballots in Wisconsin since Oct. 22, the first day of early voting in the state, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Former President Barack Obama and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz hosted a rally in Madison on Oct. 22 to energize voters to hit the polls early.

“It is not just policies that are on the ballot. It is who we are and what we stand for. So whether this election is making you feel excited or scared or hopeful or frustrated or anything in between, do not sit back and hope for the best. Do not think this is a distraction or a joke,” Obama said to a crowd speckled with “Wisconsin votes early” signs. “Get off your couch and do what?” he asked the crowd. “Vote!” it called back.

He told attendees: “If you haven’t voted yet, I won’t be offended if you just walk out right now. Go vote!” Walz said he wanted to see the energy from the crowd translate into more “I voted” stickers on Wisconsinites.

The turnout on Tuesday exceeded the amount of voters who cast early ballots on opening day in 2020, and it was higher than expected, according to the WEC. This unpredicted influx of voters caused a lag in the computer system that some clerks use to print labels for the in-person absentee certificate envelopes. The same information that is printed on the labels can also be written by hand on the outside of the envelope, and the computer system delays were resolved later on Tuesday, the commission said.

Voting absentee has grown in popularity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wisconsinites have two options to vote absentee, either by mail or in person. In-person voting began across the state on Oct. 22, but exactly when it’s available varies by municipality.

Lines were seen outside polling places in Milwaukee and Madison on Tuesday as early voting kicked off. As of Oct. 25, at least 34,000 people had cast early ballots in person in Dane County since Tuesday, and at least 37,000 had in Milwaukee County. Across the country, more than 29 million people had already voted as of the morning of Oct. 25, according to the New York Times.

Madisonian Cheryl Becker, sporting an abortion rights shirt and a beaded friendship bracelet that spelled out “blue wall,” had already mailed her absentee ballot back by the time she walked into the Alliant Energy Center to see Obama and Walz on Tuesday. She said she started voting by mail during the pandemic and has kept doing it ever since.

Before that, she used to worry about making sure she was able to vote on Election Day because she worked far from her polling place and worried she might be sick that day. Her husband still prefers to vote on Election Day, but she said she encourages people to vote early if they can.

“Vote on Election Day if that’s your wish, but consider voting early, because you never know. What if we have a terrible snow storm? We live in Wisconsin,” she said.

Friends Terri Wenkman of Jefferson and Leigh Emrick of Verona attended the rally together on Tuesday, Wenkman in a bedazzled cheesehead and both with books in hand to occupy themselves while they waited. And because they were at the rally on the opening day of early voting, they both had plans to vote in person on Wednesday instead.

Wenkman was a Wisconsin delegate at the Democratic National Convention in August and has been canvassing for Harris, and she said that voting early helps canvassers direct their energy to voters who are still undecided or who haven’t yet voted. Both of them said that voting in general is something they’re passionate about as women, especially with reproductive rights and democracy as central issues this election.

“I just feel like, do it for the people before you and to make a future for the people after you,” Wenkman said.

Sophia Jorgensen, a 19-year-old neurobiology student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, had already dropped her absentee ballot off ahead of Tuesday’s rally. Even though it’s her first presidential election, she didn’t want to leave anything to chance on Election Day.

“I didn’t want to have to deal with waiting in line on a school day on the 5th and want to make sure I got it done,” she said.

She said both of her parents have voted by mail in the past, so she was familiar with the process. She was excited about Tuesday’s rally, and about Kamala Harris as a candidate, and said she was likely going to leave energized to encourage more people to vote.

“This event today will probably make me a little more excited to go out and to talk to my friends like that. Because I have been trying a little bit, but I bet this will light a spark,” she said.

Kristina Reser-Jaynes made the trip from Readstown to attend Tuesday’s rally, and she had plans to vote early as well. She said she trusted the system of voting early because she knows her poll workers.

“I know all the people who work in the polls in my community, and I think it’s so offensive that people would say that they’re doing anything wrong. I mean, they’re dedicated people who have been trained and have done this for years. And I mean, it’s my community members, and I just think they do a terrific job,” she said.

Many others at the rally also had plans to vote early in the days to come, or had already mailed their absentee ballots. Some had even hit the polls that morning before the rally. Saraswathy Parthasarathy of Madison said she and her entire family planned to vote on Tuesday or Wednesday, saying she likes to avoid the rush.

John Plambeck of Madison said he also planned to vote on Wednesday because he wants to get it out of the way. He’s been calling his friends and family to encourage them to do the same and still had a few more people to call before Election Day.

“Vote. Get it done,” he said he’d tell people who haven’t yet made a plan to vote.

The best way for voters to check when early voting is available in their community is to visit MyVote.wi.gov, the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s voter information website. There, voters can enter their address and find their polling location and hours and check to make sure they are registered. Voters can also contact their municipal clerk’s office or check their clerk’s website to find out when early voting is. The latest possible day to vote early in person varies by location, but generally is Nov. 3.

For those voting by mail, the deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is Oct. 31. Mail-in ballots must be returned by the time polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5.