Vernon County

A basic ideal in America is that people control their own destiny. An important way to take control of your future is to vote. Voting is a simple way to shape your neighborhood, county and country. The following will explain how simple it is to vote in Vernon County.

You must be a U. S. citizen
You must be at least 18 years old on election day
You must have resided in your election district for at least 10 days prior to the election, and
You must not have lost your right to vote through a felony conviction.
You must be registered to vote.

You vote at your "polling place", which is in a building in your neighborhood, usually a community center or town hall. You can find out the polling place by calling your town clerk, village clerk or city clerk.

Election Day is always on a Tuesday.
Spring: Primary: 3rd Tuesday in February
General: 1st Tuesday in April
Fall: Primary: 2nd Tuesday in September of even-numbered years.
General: 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November of even-numbered years.

Polling place opening hour is 7:00 am all polls close at 8:00 p.m. If you are unable to get to your polling place or will be out of town on Election Day, you may vote by "absentee ballot". You can receive your absentee ballot by mail, you can go to your village, city or town clerk's office prior to Election Day to vote.

If you are already pre-registered, it is not necessary to present identification in order to vote. However, you may want to bring your driver's license or state identification, in case there is a problem at your polling place or if you recently moved.

1. Check in at the Polling Place. Voting is easy. Simply walk into your polling place and tell the election officials your name and address. They will distribute ballots to you and briefly explain the procedure.

If you make a mistake, return your ballot to the election officials. Tell them you made a mistake and ask for a new ballot. They will void your old ballot and give you a new one. They are allowed to give you up to three (3) ballots. If you need assistance, please ask. They have been trained to help all voters.

To vote for a person whose name is printed on the ballot, make a cross (X) in the square at the RIGHT of the name of the person for whom you desire to vote. To vote for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot, write the name in the blank space provided for the purpose.

Where touch screen voting systems are used, the elector shall depress the button next to the name of the candidate for whom he or she intends to vote. To vote for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot, the elector shall type in the name of the person of his or her choice in the space provided for a write-in vote. On referendum questions, the elector shall depress the button next to "yes" if in favor of the question, or the elector shall depress the button next to "no" if opposed to the question.

Where a mark sense system is used, the elector shall select the party of his or her choice and fill in the oval next to the name of the candidate of his or her choice or write in the name of his or her choice for a candidate in the space provided. The elector shall then insert the ballot into the mark sense counter upon leaving. If the ballot rejects from the machine, a poll worker should be contacted for assistance. If an elector spoils a ballot, he or she shall return it to an election official who shall issue another ballot in its place, but not more than 3 ballots shall be issued to any one elector.

Voters are allowed to cast their ballots prior to Election Day, either by mail or in the municipal clerk’s office. This process is called absentee voting.

Persons eligible to vote in their city, village or town are eligible to cast an absentee ballot. An elector no longer needs to provide a reason when applying for an absentee ballot. An elector may receive an absentee ballot by fax. The voted absentee ballot must be returned by mail. The municipal clerk, not the governing body, appoints special voting deputies to take absentee ballots to nursing homes, retirement homes and CBRF’s. You must also be registered to vote.

All persons wishing to vote absentee must request an absentee ballot in writing to their municipal clerk in the city, village or town where they vote. The request can be made as early as the first day of the sixth month before any election. The last day to make a request in writing to have your ballot mailed to you is the Friday before the election. If the absentee elector wishes to vote in the clerk’s office, the deadline is 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election. The request can be on a special Application for Absentee Ballot form, federal Post Card Application form, or in a letter stating your name, voting address and the address where the ballot should be mailed. The elector must sign the letter. No person can request an absentee ballot for another elector. A request received by fax is acceptable, but the original request must also be mailed.

The most common method of obtaining an absentee ballot is through mail delivery. Upon receipt of a completed application for an absentee ballot, the clerk will mail a ballot to the voter. Follow the instructions on the envelope and make sure to vote in private. A voted absentee ballot must be returned to the municipal clerk in the Certificate-Affidavit Absentee Ballot Envelope provided. It must arrive in time for the clerk to deliver the ballot to the proper polling place on Election Day before the closing hour.

Any qualified voter may cast an absentee ballot in person in the office of the municipal clerk when ballots are available. Absentee voting in person is conducted up to 5:00 p.m. the day before an election. An absentee ballot cannot be issued without first receiving a written request from the elector.

If you are hospitalized on Election Day, you may vote absentee by agent. Section 3 of the Application for Absentee Ballot must be completed by the voter naming an agent. The agent must be an elector of the voter’s municipality. When the request is presented to the clerk, an absentee ballot will be given to the agent for delivery to the voter. An application cannot be made earlier than 7 days before an election and must be made no later than 5:00 p.m. on Election Day. The ballot can be returned by mail or personally by the agent and arrive in time for the clerk to deliver the ballot to the proper polling place on Election Day before the closing hour.

A sequestered juror can make an application for an absentee ballot up until 5:00 p.m. on the day of the election. The municipal clerk or clerk’s agent will deliver the ballot to the court in which the elector is serving as a juror. The ballot is given to the judge, who, as soon as convenient, recesses the court to allow the juror to vote. The Certificate-Affidavit Absentee Ballot envelope is notarized by the judge and is returned to the clerk or agent for delivery to the polling place before the closing hour.

All nursing home residents desiring to vote must make a written application. Special voting deputies will deliver the ballots to the nursing home residents sometime between the 4th Monday before the election until 5:00 p.m. on the Monday before the election. They are authorized to assist the elector in marking his or her ballot, upon request. Only a special voting deputy or relative of the elector may assist the elector in voting. Voting at retirement homes and community-based residential facilities may be conducted in the same manner as voting at nursing homes if the clerk determines the need for it.

Military and overseas voters may apply for an absentee ballot on the official government postcard (Federal Post Card Application), which is available at overseas bases, embassies and consulates. A request received by fax is acceptable. The ballot and voting instructions may be faxed back to the voter; however, the voter must return the ballot by mail in order to protect the secrecy of the ballot. A write-in absentee ballot will be sent to all military and federal overseas electors who have requested one. This ballot does not contain the names of any candidates, only the offices that are up for election. If a referendum question is known at the time of preparation, it will be included on the ballot. The write-in ballot offers the military and federal overseas electors an opportunity to cast a ballot early so that it can be returned to the clerk in time for counting on Election Day. This write-in ballot does not take the place of an official ballot. As soon as the official ballots are printed, the clerk sends the same military and federal overseas electors an official ballot. If the official ballot is returned before the polls close on Election Day, the official ballot will be the one counted. Overseas electors who have no present intent to return to Vernon County can vote for federal offices only.

Registering to vote is easy. You can register with your city, village, or town clerk prior to the election or at your polling place on Election Day. You will need one piece of identification with your current address, such as a phone bill, driver's license or checkbook. Students may use their student I. D. card. If you have a drivers license, you must provide the number on the application. If you do not have a DL, you may use the last 4 digits of your social security number. If you move outside of your present voting district, you will need to notify your local clerk of your change of address and voting district.