The most anticipated and consequential national election in our lifetime is now finally upon us and the eyes of the nation are on Wisconsin – one of the most closely contested battleground states in the nation. Here is some important guidance to assist you so that your vote and voice are included in these critical state and national decisions.

If you haven’t yet cast your vote via absentee ballot, then you must prepare now for how you will vote in-person at your polling place tomorrow.

✅Mail-in Absentee Ballot Return

IF you still have an absentee ballot that was mailed to you and you have not returned it yet, be sure to personally hand return your completed ballot TODAY. Absolutely Do NOT mail it! All ballots need to be received no later than 8:00 PM tomorrow (Tuesday) on Election Day. Your clerk and myvote.wi.gov will have information about where you can take your ballot.

Don’t forget: The ballot envelope needs a witness signature and the complete address of the witness, filled out by the witness.

REMINDER: Voters with a disability who need assistance may have someone return their absentee ballot.

You can track your ballot through the official ballot tracker on MyVote. Don’t see that your ballot was received? Contact your clerk for further information.

✅In-Person Voting at your Polling Location on Election Day

If you are planning to vote in person at the polls, read the information below so you are prepared when you show up to vote at your polling location. Polls are open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, November 5th.

Polling Location

Polling places can change from election to election. To find out where to go to cast your ballot, visit the Find My Polling Place page on the MyVote Wisconsin website and type in your address.

Registration

You can register to vote on Election Day at your polling location. Being registered to vote means being registered at your current address. You need to have lived at your current address for at least 28 days prior to Election Day in order to register to vote in that election district or ward. You’ll need to bring a proof of residence document to complete your registration (this document can be shown electronically – like on your phone or tablet).

Photo ID

You are required to show a specified form of photo ID before you vote. If you have a Wisconsin driver’s license or a Wisconsin Department of Transportation-issued ID card, then you’re all set. Selected other forms of ID work too, and it’s very important to check the official list of acceptable IDs at Bring It to The Ballot to make sure you have what you need.

What if you don’t have an acceptable ID to vote tomorrow? You can ask for AND vote with a provisional ballot. But, for your ballot to be counted, you MUST either come back to your polling place with an acceptable form of ID before it closes at 8:00 PM on Election Day OR bring your ID to your municipal clerk’s office by 4:00 PM the Friday after the election (Friday, November 8th). If you don’t have an acceptable ID for voting and need help getting one, call or text the VoteRiders helpline 866-ID-2-VOTE for assistance.

Need a ride to the polls

Our friends with the WI Disability Vote Coalition have compiled information about how you can secure a ride to go vote on Election Day (November 5). Most services are free, and include accessible transportation options as well. Some require you to schedule the ride in advance. You can find this useful resource on the Disability Vote Coalition’s website.

✅Your Ballot

You will find federal and state election contests on your ballot. This will include the United States President, U.S. Senator, U.S. House of Representatives, Wisconsin State Legislative offices, and others. (Find out what is on your ballot at MyVote). These offices and the people who serve in these roles have a direct impact on your life.

Get to know who wants to represent you and which candidate best represents your values before you vote. Find candidate and ballot information from the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin at Vote411.

There is a Statewide Constitutional Amendment Referenda on your ballot: There is one statewide referendum question on the ballot on November 5th. Common Cause urges voters to resoundingly reject the amendment with a ‘NO’ vote. This release from Common Cause Wisconsin explains why this constitutional amendment should be defeated.

✅College Students voting in Wisconsin

Are you a college student voting in Wisconsin? Or do you know a student who wants to vote in Wisconsin? Here is important information from the Common Cause Wisconsin website to share: Three Things College Students Need to Do To Vote in Wisconsin

✅Have questions or need some assistance? Help is just a call, text, or email away.

If you experience problems at the polls or have questions, there is help readily available to you. Call or text Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) for assistance and support from nonpartisan election protection volunteers with any questions you have or to report any problems.

Voters with disabilities have the right to have ready access to any polling place. This includes the right to use an accessible voting machine, getting assistance marking and returning an absentee ballot, and voting curbside at a polling location. Call the Disability Rights Wisconsin Voter Hotline for assistance: 1-844-347-8683. Or email: info@disabilityvote.org. Additional online resources are also at the Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition website.

Call or text the WI Voter Helpline at 608-285-2141 and you will be connected to a nonpartisan person who can help answer all your questions. You can also request services such as getting assistance at the DMV to get an ID to vote or having someone witness your absentee ballot.

Please vote tomorrow (or that you have voted earlier) so that your voice will be heard, and your vote will be counted! Encourage anyone and everyone you know who is eligible to vote in Wisconsin to do so. That includes citizens who reside in Wisconsin (for at least 28 days). Urge them to register to vote at their polling place tomorrow (and to bring documented proof of residency and one of the required forms of photo ID).

Remember, to count every vote takes time. Be patient about results. And know all returns are unofficial until the canvass and certification of the votes.

Every single vote does and will matter and could determine the direction our state, and the nation will go in the months, years and decades ahead. Our lives and our future are at stake, and your vote will determine the outcome.

No fatal firearm hunting incident in 2023 or so far in 2024.

As deer hunting has evolved over generations in Wisconsin, several trends have become clear.

Participation is down. Options, including types of legal equipment, are up.

And arguably the most positive change in modern times: deer hunting in the Badger State is safer than it’s ever been.

Data collected by state officials show how deadly the activity used to be for hunters. For example in 1914, 24 hunters were killed and 26 injured in shooting incidents, and in 1970, 13 hunters were killed.

More: What to know about the Wisconsin gun deer hunting season: Dates, licenses, regulations

But in recent years it’s become rare to have a fatality during the gun deer hunting season, historically the period when most shooting incidents occurred.

In fact, six of the gun seasons in the last decade have passed without a shooting fatality.

With the 2024 Wisconsin gun deer season coming up Nov. 23 to Dec. 1, Department of Natural Resources staff held a media briefing Oct. 30 to present the latest information on the deer herd, season outlook and safety tips.

“Our hunting incidents are on a downward trend over the last five seasons,” said Renee Thok, DNR hunter safety administrator.

More: Wisconsin deer harvest in 2024 trending higher than last year

The improvement in Wisconsin deer hunting safety has its roots in a rule that required hunter education training for anyone born after Jan. 1, 1973, and a blaze orange clothing requirement that started in 1980.

Changes in hunter behavior have helped, too. More hunters now hunt from elevated stands, meaning their shots are directed downward and less likely to strike another hunter. Fewer hunters participate in deer drives, too.

Thok began a list of recommendations with the cardinal rules of hunting safety, also known as TAB-K: Treat every firearm as if it is loaded; always point the muzzle in a safe direction; be certain of your target and what’s beyond it; keep your finger out of the trigger guard until ready to shoot.

Noting the increased use of tree stands, Thok said it was critical to check on the status of buckles and straps on the hunting platforms and replace any that are worn or damaged. She also said hunters should used a full body safety harness to protect against falls and to use three points of contact (for example, two hands and one foot) when climbing or descending.

In addition, hunters should use a lifeline when going up or down a stand.

Thok also touched on the state’s regulation that requires deer hunters to have at least 50% of outer clothing above the waist in blaze orange or fluorescent pink. Hats or head coverings, if worn, must also be at least 50% blaze orange or fluorescent pink. Faded or stained clothing is unsafe and should be replaced, according to the DNR.

And it’s also smart for non-hunters and their pets to wear highly visible clothing when outdoors during the gun deer season.

If hunters are using an ATV or UTV, Thok issued a reminder to unload firearms before transporting them.

And she urged people to hunt sober.

Smith: Dr. Robert Riepenhoff, son of my predecessor, takes on firearm injuries and deaths

“Be safe, responsible and sober when in the woods,” Thok said. “Impairment at any time either by drugs or alcohol can have tragic consequences.”

In 2023, 11 shooting incidents were recorded across all Wisconsin’s hunting seasons; none was fatal.

And just three of those incidents occurred during the 2023 nine-day gun deer season. They were: a self-inflicted foot injury Nov. 18 to a hunter in Forest County; a woman shot in the thigh Nov. 19 by a hunter who was hunting with permission on her property in Adams County; and a hunter shot in the leg Nov. 24 by another hunter while the two were participating in a deer drive in Taylor County.

The 10-year average is 5.9 shooting incidents during the state’s gun deer season, according to a 2023 DNR report.

So far in 2024 four non-fatal shooting incidents have been recorded in hunting situations, according to the DNR. One was during the spring turkey hunting season, two during waterfowl seasons this fall and one in which a man shot himself in the foot while attempting to kill a raccoon.

Though the trend toward fewer firearm-related incidents is encouraging, safety experts know their job is never done.

Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1973 must have a hunter education certification to purchase a hunting license unless hunting under the Mentored Hunting Law. Learn more about safe hunting in Wisconsin and register to take a hunter education course on the DNR’s Outdoor Skills webpage.

To learn more about hunting in Wisconsin, including information on hunter education courses, visit dnr.wi.gov.

MADISON, WI– With days away until Election Day, thousands of voters have already submitted their absentee mail-in ballot or have already voted with in-person early voting. Regardless whether you submitted your ballot via absentee or on Election Day, all those votes will be counted.

But how do election officials filter all those ballots by wards and municipalities? Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator, Megan Wolfe says it all comes down to the local level. In a virtual press meeting that took place on Friday, November 1st, Wolfe explained the process to members of the press.

“Wisconsin state law says as municipalities finish their tabulation, they report their unofficial results to their county clerk; and the county clerk posts those unofficial results to their website,” said Wolfe.

Those municipalities will count Election Day ballots first, before opening the submitted absentee ballots and adding those results to the unofficial results. However, all municipalities are not alike in processing absentee ballots according to Wolfe.

“There are about 35 municipalities that utilize what’s called central count for counting their absentee ballots.” Wolfe said. “All the absentees are counted in a central location. Until all those absentee votes are counted for, they will then be added to the municipality and ward where the absentee voter resides.”

When all the county clerks in Wisconsin have submitted their results, the Wisconsin Elections Commission will then announce which candidate has earned Wisconsin’s electoral votes.

If for some reason, the margin of error is too close to count, the WEC will have plans in place for a recount.

“Recounts often happen over Thanksgiving and deer hunting season,” said Wolfe. “And so a lot of times clerks can struggle if they’re not anticipating a recount to staff those and so we want to make sure that everybody is ready and can get the staff they need to be ready in the event if we have one.”

Wolfe also wants to remind people that if they haven’t yet registered to vote for this year’s election, they cannot register on the Sunday or Monday before Election Day, but they can register to vote when the show up to their polling place during Election Day.

“People do need to bring some form of proof on where they live such as a utility bill or a bank statement, something with proof of their current address,” said Wolfe. “And all Wisconsin voters are going to have to show an acceptable photo ID before voting.”

Polls open at 7A.M. on Election Day and close at 8P.M.