Voting & Civic Engagement (ELCAvotes)
NEW: Comprehensive 2020 LOPPW Voting Guide One Pager – 2020 LOPPW Voting Overview.
Wisconsin Voting Deadlines and Facts for November 2020 was published by the Wisconsin Elections Commission on August 20, 2020! A couple of highlights: If you are voting with an absentee ballot you can already request your ballot. Municipalities will begin responding to applications for absentee ballots on September 17. Some regulations related to ballots are federal, some statewide and others are determined by your local municipality. So, Wisconsinites, please check out the document above and, everyone, please be in touch with your local clerk with questions or needed clarifications to avoid any surprises as we approach November 3.
Find more information at My Vote Wisconsin
Contact your municipal clerk to identify absentee ballot drop boxes in your community and to find out your local opportunities to early vote in person.
Recent Supreme Court Decisions
In June 2020, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that in-person absentee voting will only be allowed for 14 days, compared to the six weeks it was offered in the last Presidential Election. “In the last Presidential Election, over 57,000 people voted by early in-person absentee voting.
This reduction in time will exacerbate long lines and make it harder to provide safety during the pandemic and efficiency at the poll sites. It will decrease voters rights. We are going backwards.
Ban on email and fax delivery of ballots to domestic civilian voters: This was a pre-pandemic case. There is another effort in a separate case to ask for electronic transmissions as an option related specifically to the pandemic.
A mandate was issued on July 29 by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in the One Wisconsin Institute case meaning that this ruling is now in effect. Please review the summary of changes below to determine how this decision impacts voting laws and procedures and how you will need to update any training and documentation provided to your staff and election inspectors for the upcoming August and November elections.
On June 29, 2020 the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling in the One Wisconsin Institute case that had been on appeal since 2016. WEC provided further guidance on July 2, 2020 that the Wisconsin Department of Justice determined that the 7th Circuit decision was not in effect until the mandate was issued. All aspects of the ruling are now in effect and should be applied to the deadlines and procedures used to administer the August 11, 2020 Partisan Primary: Learn more here.
Letter to Governor Evers Regarding DMV Services (2)
Special Message from Governor Tony Evers and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes on the Upcoming Election: Gov Evers Msg on VOTING
Because of the Coronavirus, we are no longer recruiting poll workers for April 7.
Find info on voting early and what’s on your ballot at My Vote
CENSUS AND OTHER CIVIC ENGAGEMENT RESOURCES FROM OUR DC OFFICE! Also scroll down for some of the links to our national resources.
ELCAvotes buttons “2020 brings a new decade and a new presidential election! Get ready A for the vote and order our ever popular #ELCAvotes buttons from Old Lutheran
NEW! Census 2020 Awareness Building Tool Kit
ELCAvotes Bible Study from the Margins
Voting Rights and Racial Justice
From LOPPW:
