When is wisconsin primary

Register to Vote. Spring Primary Election — Tuesday, Feb. Click here to follow election results! What's on your ballot? Click here to find out using My Vote. This page is an overview of the Wisconsin elections, including the offices on the ballot covered by Ballotpedia, election dates , and frequently asked questions. Below is a list of Wisconsin elections covered by Ballotpedia in Click the links to learn more about each type:.

Statewide election dates in Wisconsin are listed below. For more dates, please see the elections calendar. February 16, : Primary April 6, : General election Polling hours: 7 a.

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive ballot coverage of municipal elections in the nation's largest cities by population , including races for trial court judgeships and county offices that overlap them. Ballotpedia also covers the nation's largest public school districts by student enrollment and all school districts overlapping the top cities by population.

Election results are posted on Ballotpedia's election overview pages, as well as the relevant candidate pages. You can find links to the current election overview pages in the "Offices on the ballot" section of this page.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election.

Wisconsin utilizes an open primary system; registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary. To register to vote in Wisconsin, one must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of Wisconsin for at least 28 days prior to the election. Meanwhile, Minnesota and Maryland intend to print more absentee ballots and envelopes to meet increased demand.

By taking proactive steps to fortify and build on existing infrastructure now, these states will be better prepared to conduct elections in the midst of the COVID pandemic and can therefore avoid many of the complications witnessed in Wisconsin. In states lacking necessary infrastructure and strong policies that protect electoral processes and keep people safe, preparing elections for COVID—while still wholly feasible—presents more of a challenge.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 33 states lack at least one of the four vital policies identified in previous sections: no-excuse absentee voting, online and same-day registration, and early voting. Eighteen of these states lack two or more policies:. Besides lacking key policies, many of these states could face serious challenges in administering mostly vote-by-mail elections given their historical underreliance on mail-based voting.

For instance, in 20 of the 33 states lacking one or more critical policies, absentee ballots comprised less than 10 percent of all votes cast in , according to data collected by the EAC. In the absence of considerable policy reform and system upgrades, American citizens in these places may be blocked from casting ballots.

Additionally, increased demand for vote by mail due to COVID concerns could overwhelm existing infrastructure, leading to lost votes and administrative headaches. Among the 33 states listed above, only in Arizona, Montana, and Oregon—which lack just same-day voter registration—did mailed ballots comprise more than 50 percent of votes cast in the general election.

Oregon conducts its elections entirely by mail. Fortunately, many of these states have already taken action to improve their systems. Other states, such as Georgia , Nebraska , Rhode Island , and South Dakota , are proactively sending absentee ballot application forms to all registered or active voters. West Virginia is also automatically mailing absentee applications to all registered voters, and Secretary of State Mac Warner has declared that COVID constitutes a valid excuse for requesting a ballot under state law.

In expanding access to vote by mail, the aforementioned states are helping to preserve the fundamental right to vote while also mitigating community spread. In other states, officials are bolstering election infrastructure to manage surges in vote by mail.

Still, many states have a significant way to go in preparing themselves for running a safe election that ensures that every eligible voter has a chance to cast a ballot. It will take substantial time to implement all essential measures for safely and efficiently carrying out elections during the COVID pandemic. This is true regardless of whether a state needs to bolster its infrastructure or if it needs to both modify infrastructure and adopt new voting policies.

In nearly every state, in-person voting remains the most popular method for casting a ballot. Yet during a pandemic, reliance must shift toward vote by mail in order to promote social distancing and prevent community spread.

To be sure, preserving in-person voting options is absolutely imperative for conserving the fundamental right to vote. Nonetheless, vote by mail will become the default option for the vast majority of American voters this year. Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it.

With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen. There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out.

Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session. Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for or yes or no on a ballot measure. On other DREs, the screen is set up to show pages. On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president.

Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a touch screen, where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for.

Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for. You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.

Paper Ballots: Paper ballots are one of the oldest ways of voting in America. They are still used in a few places on Election Day. When you come to the polling place, you will get a paper ballot from the poll worker. You take it to the voting booth, and use a pen or pencil to mark a box next to your candidate and issue choices. You then drop the marked ballot into a sealed ballot box.

LWV volunteers work year-round to register new voters, host community forums and debates, and provide voters with election information they need. Skip to main navigation. Voting In My State. View another state. Next Election: Primary. View details.

Registration Deadlines Online Get Registered! By Mail postmarked. Tuesday, April 5, Spring Election. Tuesday, August 9, Tuesday, November 8, General Election. View all election dates. Wisconsin Election Information 15 Feb. Tuesday, February 15, Election Type:. Election Location s :. Spring Primary Election Primary held to nominate non-partisan candidates to be voted for at the Spring Election on April 5th.

Registration Deadlines:. Wisconsin Election Information 05 Apr. Wisconsin Election Information 09 Aug. Wisconsin Election Information 08 Nov. Learn more. Absentee Ballot Process.