Drive-Up Voting

Thousands of Milwaukeeans have opted to vote early in the April 7th Spring Election through a new city service – drive-up voting.

The service, created as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, replaced the city’s three in-person early voting facilities that were closed on March 22nd. The drive-up service has been operational since March 28th outside the Zeidler Municipal Building at 841 N. Broadway.

City poll workers, all wearing masks, bring the ballot to your vehicle and pick it up. The ballot, technically an absentee ballot, is then sealed by the poll workers, who also provide the necessary witness signature.

Milwaukee Police Department officers provide traffic control, with the backed-up line of cars wrapping around Red Arrow Park.

Urban Milwaukee had a front-row seat to see the service in action Friday morning.

My wife’s mail-in absentee ballot, despite being requested a week earlier than mine, still hadn’t arrived as of Friday morning. Rather than hoping a reissued one would arrive, she opted to try out the drive-thru process.

It’s easy, but not nearly as fast as voting traditionally is in Milwaukee. Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Neil Albrecht estimated that voters should expect to spend approximately 40 minutes in line. Our result? 47 minutes. My suggestion: bring a book, queue up some podcasts or plan to call a friend on the phone while you wait.

The service will be available Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m.

You must be registered to vote to use the service as of the state’s March 30th online registration deadline.

Unregistered voters can register in-person the day of the election at their polling site. The city, due to a shortage of over 1,000 election workers, has reduced its normal 180 polling sites down to only five. Voters can find theirs by visiting the state’s My Vote WI website.

Voters that have voted absentee are recommended to drop off their ballots at one of five city drop sites to avoid potential delays in the ballots being received by mail.