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UPDATE: On Monday, April 6, Gov. Evers signed an executive order suspending in-person voting and directing the state's legislative bodies into a special session to be held Tuesday, April 7. Later in the day, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered for the election to take place as planned.
Hundreds of thousands of voters will likely be heading to the polls Tuesday in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what they should know:
“How and where you vote may have changed because of COVID-19,” said Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin’s chief elections official. “Local election officials are prepared for Election Day with sanitation supplies and have been trained on social distancing procedures and other guidance developed with a public health official. Now, we’re asking voters to be careful and patient if they go to the polls on Tuesday.”
Wolfe offered these important reminders to voters:
- Because of poll worker shortages, your polling place may have changed due to consolidation. Before heading out to vote, please double-check your polling location at myvote.wi.gov. Click “Find My Polling Place.”
- Wash your hands before heading to your polling place on Election Day. Hand hygiene is essential for a safe voting experience for everyone at the polls.
- Wash or sanitize your hands again when arriving at your polling place and before voting. A 70% alcohol spray solution will be available at most polling places.
- Things will look different at your polling place. Social distancing and public health related changes have been made to each polling place for this election.
- Please be patient when voting at the polls. The public health procedures being used will slow down some parts of the process when you have to interact with poll workers.
- You may be asked to line up outside your polling place or voting area to ensure only a safe number of voters are in the voting area at one time.
- Social distancing is essential even at your polling place on Election Day. There will be procedures in place to allow for six feet between voters and poll workers to ensure a safe voting experience for everyone.
- Please keep your face-to-face interactions brief with both poll workers and other voters. We want to limit the risk for everyone in the process on Election Day.
- If you are ill and still need to vote on Election Day, curbside voting options are available.
- If you received an absentee ballot, you can return it at your polling place on Election Day if you have not yet returned it to your municipal clerk’s office. Mailed-in ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday, April 7.
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