WI-07: State GOP confusing voters re. absentee voting in special election.
A mailer from the Republican Party of Wisconsin claims voters can request an absentee ballot for the upcoming special election in Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District with a pre-paid postcard. But there’s a problem: Most voters returning the postcards aren't eligible to request ballots that way, and the burden is falling on local clerks to explain.
"It just created a lot of extra work," said Wausau City Clerk Leslie Kremer.
Kremer said she's received about 200 postcards in the last week. Except for a handful, they did not include a copy of the voter's photo ID — a requirement in Wisconsin for most absentee ballot requests. Exceptions are members of the military, permanent overseas residents and those who are "indefinitely confined."
"Nowhere on the postcard does it tell people that they have to submit a photo ID," Kremer said. That means it's up to clerks like her to contact those who dropped the card in the mail without attaching a copy of a driver's license or other valid ID. Kremer said her office is calling people who included a phone number, and sending letters to those who included only a mailing address on the postcard.
Wausau is the most populous city in the 7th Congressional District, which has a special election Tuesday, May 12. Republican state Sen. Tom Tiffany will face Democratic candidate Tricia Zunker, the Wausau School Board president and Ho-Chunk Supreme Court justice, in a closely watched contest in the rural district.
The deadline for requesting absentee ballots in the special election is Thursday — a fact that is advertised prominently on the GOP mailer. That means if voters wait until the deadline to submit their request but neglect to include a photo ID, there likely won't be time for clerks to explain the requirement.
https://www.wpr.org/gop-mailer-absentee-ballot-requests-confuses-voters-putting-burden-clerks-explain
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