Your absentee ballot must be postmarked by Tuesday or you must vote in person, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote Monday.
The ruling is the latest in a dizzying series of developments in the fight over tomorrow’s spring election.
Governor Tony Evers has been trying for weeks to persuade the Republican-controlled legislature to postpone the April 7 election, in which the state’s Democrats will vote in the presidential primary and the state will vote for a Supreme Court race between incumbent conservative Daniel Kelly and liberal challenger Jill Karofsky. A number of local races are also to be decided, including the Milwaukee mayor and Milwaukee County Executive races.
Saying he lacked the authority to change the date of the election, Evers asked the legislature to convert to an all-mail ballot with a deadline of May 26. A federal judge ruled that neither the governor nor the legislature could postpone the election unilaterally. However, the judge ruled that all absentee ballots received by April 13 could be counted.
However, the Republican National Committee appealed that ruling to the US Supreme Court, which ruled that the April 13 deadline was not valid. All absentee ballots must be postmarked by April 7.
Meanwhile, Evers issued an executive order postponing in-person voting to June 9, which was overturned by the Wisconsin State Supreme Court just hours later.
It all boils down to this: if you haven’t yet returned an absentee ballot, you can still turn it in tomorrow. If you didn’t get an absentee ballot and still wish to vote, you must do so in person tomorrow. Most cities have consolidated polling places, so your polling place might not be the same as usual.Visit myvote.wi.gov to find yours.
