It’s been a steady stream of people coming into the Rhinelander City Clerk’s office to vote in the last week.
City Clerk Austyn Zarda said by 3:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon 237 people had voted early in-person absentee so far. That surpasses that number of voters that came in during the last midterm election in 2022.
“In-person early voting has been extremely, extremely busy, especially for a midterm election,” said Zarda. “As I speak, there's more people walking into City Hall to early vote in person.”
Early in-person absentee voting is underway in Wisconsin, and it’s keeping local clerks busy.
As of Tuesday morning, nearly 1,000 people have voted in-person in Oneida County. That’s just shy of the total number of people who voted in-person in the county in 2022.
Just under 400 Rhinelander voters have returned their ballots via mail or drop box.
Zarda says the decrease of mail-in and the rise of early in-person within the city matches what’s being seen at state and national levels.
“We've heard definitely a lot of things. A lot of people are just very excited to cast their ballot. Some folks just want to make sure they do it early because they may be out of town on election day, or they know that the lines tend to get pretty busy in the City of Rhinelander during certain times of the day when they would traditionally go vote in person on election day. We have heard some people who do worry about if their ballot is going to be received via the mail, if there's any delays or anything like that,” said Zarda.
It's a similar story in Minocqua where town clerk Roben Haggart has seen more than 300 people come in to vote early in-person.
“We've had some lines with people waiting to vote, but getting through it really quickly. I mean, it doesn't take long, but the turnout's been really good,” said Haggart.
Both clerks say it’s been running smoothly with voters well-prepared.
“They've done their homework before they come in,” said Haggart.
Early in-person voting is allowed through November 1, but many clerks only offer it during office hours, if they offer it at all.
This means the last day of early in-person voting for both Minocqua and Rhinelander will be this Friday. You can check with your local clerk for possible early, in-person absentee voting hours.
If you still have to return a ballot that you got in the mail, it is not recommended to return it via mail at this point as there’s a good chance it won’t be received by 8:00 p.m. on election day. People can return ballots to their clerk’s office, their ballot drop box if its available, or bring it to the polls on election day which is Tuesday, November 3.
Absentee ballots (both in-person and via mail) are kept in envelopes and locked up until election day. They will be counted on election day along with everyone who votes at the polls.
“It's just as secure no matter which method you use,” said Zarda. “All that matters is you cast your ballot.”
Zarda does add that he recommends casting your ballot early in case something pops up on election day.
“Whether it's bad weather, whether it's you get sick, you're out of town, something comes up. It's just safer that, if you planned on voting anyway, might as well do it early and be done with it,” said Zarda.
Polls will be open 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3. You can find your local clerk, polling place, and other voter information at myvote.wi.gov.
