- What is absentee voting?
- Who qualifies for absentee voting?
- How to obtain an absentee ballot
- Absentee voting by mail
- Absentee voting in person
- Hospitalized elector
- Sequestered juror
- Resident of nursing home, retirement homes and community-based residential facilities
- Military and overseas electors
Voters are allowed to cast their ballots prior to Election Day, either by mail or in the municipal clerk’s office. This process is called absentee voting.
WHO QUALIFIES FOR ABSENTEE VOTING?
Any qualified elector who is unable or unwilling to appear at the polling place on Election Day may request to vote an absentee ballot. A qualified elector must be:
- A resident of the City of Oshkosh / Reside in the ward for at least 10 days prior to the election
- 18 years of age or older on Election Day
- Registered to vote in the City of Oshkosh
HOW TO OBTAIN AN ABSENTEE BALLOT
All persons wishing to vote absentee must request an absentee ballot in writing to the City of Oshkosh Clerk. The request can be made as early as the first day of the sixth month before any election. The last day to make a request in writing is the Friday before the election. If the absentee elector wishes to vote in the clerk’s office, the deadline is 5:00 P.M. on the day before the election.
The request can be on a Special Application for Absentee Ballot form, Federal Post Card Application form, or in a letter stating your name, voting address, address where the ballot should be mailed and reason for requesting an absentee ballot. The elector should sign the letter. No person can request an absentee ballot for another elector. A request received by FAX is acceptable, but the original request must also be mailed.
To receive an automatic ballot for each election, you must mark Section 2 of the Application for Absentee Ballot. Special Note: If you fail to vote in any election, your name will be dropped and you will have to reapply.
The most common method of obtaining an absentee ballot is through mail delivery. Upon receipt of a completed application for an absentee ballot, the clerk will mail a ballot to the voter. Follow all enclosed instructions and make sure to vote in private. A voted absentee ballot must be returned to the municipal clerk in the Certificate-Affidavit Absentee Ballot Envelope provided. It must arrive in time for the clerk to deliver the ballot to the proper polling place on Election Day before the closing hour.
Any qualified voter may cast an absentee ballot in person in the office of the municipal clerk when ballots are available. Absentee voting in person is conducted up to 5:00 P.M. the day before an election. An absentee ballot cannot be issued without first receiving a written request form the elector.
If you are hospitalized on Election Day, you may vote absentee by agent. The voter naming an agent must complete section 3 of the Application for Absentee Ballot. The agent must be an elector of the voter’s municipality. When the request is presented to the clerk, an absentee ballot will be given to the agent for delivery to the voter. An application cannot be made earlier than 7 days before an election and must be made no later than 5:00 P.M. on Election Day. The ballot can be returned by mail or personally by the agent and arrive in time for the clerk to deliver the ballot to the proper polling place on election day before the closing hour.
A sequestered juror can make an application for an absentee ballot up until 5:00 P.M. on the day of the election. The municipal clerk or clerk’s agent will deliver the ballot to the court in which the elector is serving as a juror. The ballot is given to the judge, who, as soon as convenient, recesses the court to allow the juror to vote. The Certificate-Affidavit Absentee Ballot envelope is notarized by the judge and is returned to the clerk or agent for delivery to the polling place before the closing hour.
RESIDENTS OF NURSING HOMES, RETIREMENT HOMES AND COMMUNITY-BASED RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES
All nursing home residents desiring to vote must make a written application. Special voting deputies will deliver the ballots to the nursing home residents sometime between the 4th Monday before the election until 5:00 P.M. on the Monday before the election. They are authorized to assist the elector in marking his or her ballot, upon request. Only a special voting deputy or relative of the elector may assist the elector in voting.
Voting at retirement homes and community-based residential facilities may be conducted in the same manner as voting at nursing homes if the clerk determines the need for it.
MILITARY AND OVERSEAS ELECTORS
Military and overseas voters may apply for an absentee ballot on the official government postcard (Federal Post Card Application), which is available at overseas bases, embassies and consulates. A request received by FAX is acceptable. The ballot and voting instructions may be Faxed back to the voter; however, the voter must return the ballot by mail in order to protect the secrecy of the ballot.
A write-in absentee ballot will be sent to all military and federal overseas electors who have requested one. This ballot does not contain the names of any candidates, only the offices that is up for election. If a referendum question is known at the time of preparation, it will be included on the ballot. The write-in ballot offers the military and federal overseas electors an opportunity to cast a ballot early so that it can be returned to the clerk in time for counting on Election Day.
This write-in ballot does not take the place of an official ballot. As soon as the official ballots are printed, the clerk sends the same military and federal overseas electors an official ballot. If the official ballot is returned before the polls close on Election Day, the official ballot will be the one counted.
Overseas electors who have no present intent to return to the City of Oshkosh can vote for federal offices only.
City of Oshkosh Clerk
215 Church Avenue
PO Box 1130
Oshkosh WI 54903-1130
(920) 236-5011