Voters must Mail or Drop off their own ballots, use of city hall drop box is illegal. 

• Only the voter can return their ballot.  Unless the voter is disabled, we are unable to accept the ballot from another person. 
• Return all absentee ballots by mail or to City Clerk staff in City Hall, 7525 W. Greenfield Avenue during public hours of the building 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
• Absentee ballots placed in our drop box will not be counted. 

WHEN CAN I TURN IN MY ABSENTEE BALLOT?

As soon as possible, but it must be at City Hall by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

WHEN WILL THE ABSENTEE BALLOTS BE COUNTED?

On Election Day starting at 7 a.m. 

I RECEIVED THE ABSENTEE BALLOT IN THE MAIL THAT I REQUESTED, BUT WHAT IF I WANT TO VOTE IN PERSON ON ELECTION DAY?

If you do not wish to vote via the ballot that was mailed to you, please write on the envelope "Voter Declines" and return it to the Clerk's Office* via the dropbox or bringing it to the Customer Service Center, Monday thru Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We prefer the ballot be returned for accountability. We will then update the system and deactivate the ballot. That way, on Election Day, the poll book will not reflect that you were issued an absentee ballot, and you may vote in-person.

WHAT HAPPENS TO MY ABSENTEE BALLOT ONCE I TURN IT IN?

• It is date stamped with that day’s date and marked “Returned” in the state’s WisVote system. 
• They are then sorted by ward, alphabetized, and kept secure until Election Day when they are counted

WHAT IF I MAKE A MISTAKE ON MY BALLOT WHEN I VOTED ABSENTEE? 

That’s ok!  It’s the same procedure as on Election Day, you are allowed up to three ballots.  Please write on the envelope you received “Made Mistake, Need New Ballot”, tape it shut and return it to City Hall, either in the dropbox or to the Customer Service Center.  We will cancel that ballot in the system and mail you a new one.  You could also vote when In-Person Absentee Voting (aka Early Voting) begins and you will be issued a new ballot.  

CAN I TURN IN MY VOTED ABSENTEE BALLOT ON ELECTION DAY TO MY POLLING PLACE TO BE COUNTED?

No, all absentee ballots need to be returned to the Clerk's Office*by 8 p.m. on Election Day for counting. We will be processing all absentee ballots at City Hall using a process called "Central Count". Those who bring their absentee ballot to the polling place will either be told they have to return it to City Hall, or they will submit it to the Chief Inspector who will mark it "Rejected - Voted in Person", and it will not be opened. The voter can then vote in-person, on Election Day at the polling place.

WHERE CAN I RETURN MY ABSENTEE BALLOT IN-PERSON IF I DON'T WANT TO MAIL IT BACK?

Return your ballot to City Staff in the lobby of City Hall during public hours (11:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday) or by mail.  Drop boxes have now officially been ruled as illegal.  

WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR COUNTING THE ABSENTEE BALLOTS?

The staff works in teams of two. They assign each envelope a voter number in the electronic poll books. They then open the envelope and take out the ballot. The ballot is placed face down so we cannot see any votes. Then the ballots and envelopes are taken to the tabulating machine. The envelopes are given a shuffle so we don’t know which envelope goes with which ballot. One election inspector reads the name of the voter, the other inserts the ballot into the machine. We repeat that process until we are through processing all the absentee ballots. 

WEST ALLIS VOTER TURNOUT STATISTICS

Click here to view (PDF) the City's Voter Turnout Statistics from 2012 to current.  You can see the date and type of election, registered voters, voters per election, percentages of turnouts, as well as how many people voted via absentee ballot.  

Click here to go to Myvote and enter your address to find your polling place.