Everything you need to know about early voting in Madison

October 24, 2022 4:47 PM

Jaymes Langrehr,

Posted: October 24, 2022 4:47 PM

Updated: November 4, 2022 11:05 AM

by Jaymes Langrehr

Early voting In Person Absentee Ballots — WISC-TV/Channel 3000

MADISON, Wis. — In-person absentee voting gets underway at dozens of locations across the City of Madison on Tuesday, October 25.

There are a total of 32 early-voting locations in Madison, stretching from the city’s far west to far east sides. Voting hours vary depending on the location, but many offer times through the weekend before the election.

If you haven’t registered to vote yet and missed earlier deadlines to register via mail or online, you can still register at the polls, with the exception of the weekend before the election, Nov. 5 and Nov. 6. State law does not allow registration the weekend before the election, but those who need to register before voting will still be able to do so at the polls on Election Day, Nov. 8.

In order to vote early through in-person absentee voting, you will need to have a photo ID with you to confirm your identity (you can find a list of acceptable forms of ID here). If you’re registering at the polls, you’ll also need to bring a proof of residence document with you in addition to the photo ID. Your photo ID does not need to have your current address on it, but the proof of residence does (the City of Madison has a list of acceptable documents for proving residency here).

Early voting locations

Below is a list of in-person absentee voting locations across Madison. You can vote in-person absentee at any of the locations regardless of where in the city you live, but you do need to be a resident of the City of Madison in order to vote at one of the locations below.

You can use the map to find locations close to you, look up the dates and times they are open for voting, and get directions to the polling place.

Madison Municipal Building, 215 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
8:30 am – 4:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4

Olbrich Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave
10:00 am – 4:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4

Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 1625 Northport Dr
8:30 am – 7:30 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4
8:30 am – 5:00 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5
11:30 am – 5:30 pm Sundays, Oct. 30 & Nov. 6

East Madison Community Center, 8 Straubel Court
11:00 am – 4:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4

Edgewood College – Wingra Commons, 1000 Edgewood College Dr
11:00 am – 3:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 31 – Nov. 4

UW-Madison Union South, 1308 W Dayton St
11:00 am – 5:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4

UW-Madison Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St
11:00 am – 5:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4

Madison College Truax Campus, 1701 Wright St
11:00 am – 3:30 pm weekdays, Oct. 31 – Nov. 4

Madison College South Madison Campus, 2429 Perry St
11:00 am – 3:30 pm weekdays, Oct. 31 – Nov. 4

Alicia Ashman Library, 733 N High Point Rd
11:00 am – 5:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5

Central Library, 201 W Mifflin St
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5
2:00 – 4:00 pm Sundays, Oct. 30 & Nov. 6

Goodman South Madison Library, 2222 S Park St
11:00 am – 7:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5
2:00 – 4:00 pm Sundays, Oct. 30 & Nov. 6

Hawthorne Library, 2707 E Washington Ave
11:00 am – 7:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5

Lakeview Library, 2845 N Sherman Ave
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5
2:00 – 4:00 pm Sundays, Oct. 30 & Nov. 6

Meadowridge Library, 5726 Raymond Rd
11:00 am – 7:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5

Pinney Library, 516 Cottage Grove Rd
11:00 am – 7:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5

Sequoya Library, 4340 Tokay Blvd
11:00 am – 7:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5

Hmong Institute, 4402 Femrite Dr
11:00 am – 3:30 pm Tuesdays, Oct. 25 & Nov. 1
11:00 am – 3:30 pm Thursdays, Oct. 27 & Nov. 3
10:00 am – 3:30 pm Fridays, Oct. 28 & Nov. 4

Global Market & Food Hall, 2161 Zeier Rd
11:00 am – 7:00 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5
10:00 am – 1:00 pm Sundays, Oct. 30 & Nov. 6

Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S Gammon Rd
6:00 – 8:00 pm Wednesdays, Oct. 26 & Nov. 2
10:00 am – noon Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5

Urban League Southwest Employment Center, 1233 McKenna Blvd
11:00 am – 5:00 pm Wednesdays, Oct. 26 & Nov. 2
11:00 am – 5:00 pm Fridays, Oct. 28 & Nov. 4
11:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday, Oct. 31

Boys & Girls Club – Allied, 4619 Jenewein Rd
10:30 am – 5:30 pm weekdays, Oct. 25 – Nov. 4

Catholic Multicultural Center, 1862 Beld St
1:00 – 5:00 pm Tuesdays, Oct. 25 & Nov. 1
1:00 – 5:00 pm Thursdays, Oct. 27 & Nov. 3

Tenney Park Shelter, 402 N Thornton Ave
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Friday, Nov. 4

Eagle Heights Community Center, 611 Eagle Heights Dr
10:00 am – 5:00 pm Fridays, Oct. 28 & Nov. 4

Bridge – Lake Point – Waunona Neighborhood Center, 1917 Lake Point Dr
9:00 am – 5:00 pm Thursdays, Oct. 27 & Nov. 3
9:00 am – 3:00 pm Fridays, Oct. 28 & Nov. 4

Rebalanced – Life Wellness Association Men’s Health & Education Center, 588 Grand Canyon Dr
9:30 am – 4:30 pm Tuesdays, Oct. 25 & Nov. 1
9:30 am – 4:30 pm Wednesdays, Oct. 26 & Nov. 2
9:30 am – 4:30 pm Fridays, Oct. 28 & Nov. 4
9:30 am – 4:30 pm Saturdays, Oct. 29 & Nov. 5

Wisconsin Youth Company, 1201 McKenna Blvd
11:00 am – 1:00 pm Tuesdays, Oct. 25 & Nov. 1
4:00 – 6:00 pm Thursdays, Oct. 27 & Nov. 3

Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church/Lake Edge United Church of Christ, 4200 Buckeye Rd
9:00 am – 2:00 pm Sundays, Oct. 30 & Nov. 6

Fountain of Life Church, 633 W Badger Rd
9:00 am – 2:00 pm Sundays, Oct. 30 & Nov. 6

Badger Rock Neighborhood Center, 501 E Badger Rd
By appointment only, 10:00 am Wednesday, Oct. 26
Contact the Clerk’s Office in advance to make appointment.

How in-person absentee voting works

After you arrive at your in-person absentee polling location, this is what will happen, according to the City of Madison Clerk’s Office:

The absentee clerk provides an absentee envelope on which the voter writes their name, address, and date of birth.
The absentee clerk checks the voter’s ID. Rather than handling the ID, they ask the voter to hold up the ID for them to see.
The absentee clerk uses the state’s voter registration system to verify that the voter is registered, and to process the absentee request. The absentee clerk generates a label that they affix to the absentee envelope. They ask the voter to verify that their name and address are listed correctly on the label.
The absentee clerk stamps Absentee on a ballot card and writes the ward number and City Clerk’s initials on the card. They activate the ballot card for the voter’s ward and school district, using the ExpressVote accessible voting device. This device offers a touchscreen with large print and high contrast, a Braille keypad, compatibility with Sip & Puff devices, and Spanish translation. Using this device for in-person absentee voting also eliminates the need to keep each site stocked with 29 different ballot styles.
The absentee clerk steps back to give the voter privacy, and the voter follows the ExpressVote prompts to select the candidates of their choice.
The voter reviews and approves their selections before the ExpressVote prints the voter’s selections on the ballot card. Once the ballot card is printed, the voter may feed the card back into the ExpressVote to review their selections again. They may also read the selections printed on the ballot card.
The voter folds their ballot card in half and seals it in their absentee envelope.
The voter signs their envelope in the presence of the absentee clerk. The absentee clerk signs as the voter’s witness.
At the end of the voting shift for the day, the absentee ballot is delivered to the City Clerk’s Office in a courier bag with a tamper-evident seal. The absentee clerk and the courier both verify the number of absentees and the tamper-evident seal number. They document the unique serial number on the tamper-evident seal and the number of absentees in the courier bag.
City Clerk’s Office personnel verify the serial number on the tamper-evident seal, and the number of absentee envelopes sealed inside the courier bag.
Absentee ballots remain sealed in their certificate envelope and secured by the Clerk’s Office until delivered to the voter’s polling place to be processed on Election Day.
On Election Day, poll workers at the voter’s polling location verify that the certificate on the absentee envelope is complete, check the voter into the poll book to be assigned a voter number, and insert the ballot into the tabulator to be counted. To protect the secrecy of the ballot, poll workers process absentee ballots in groups of at least three, completely separate the envelopes from the ballots after checking the envelopes in at the poll book, and shuffle the ballots before unfolding them for processing.