Milwaukee Mayor Pushes Early Voting, Absentee Drop-Offs
Early voting sites are now open and accepting absentee ballot drop-offs for Aug 11 primary.
Early voting and a ballot drop box at Good Hope Library, 7715 W. Good Hope Rd. Photo taken July 28, 2026 by Sophie Bolich.
The parking lot at Milwaukee Public Library‘s Good Hope Branch was nearly full Tuesday afternoon as residents turned out for the first day of early voting.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson was among them, chatting with voters in line before casting his ballot in the Aug. 11 partisan primary.
He encouraged others to do the same.
“I want every single eligible voter to participate in this election, especially in the governor’s race,” Johnson said. “Of course, folks can do that on Election Day, but it’s just as easy to vote early.”
Located at 7715 W. Good Hope Rd., the library is one of six early voting sites across the city. Others include Midtown Voting Center at 4170 N. 56th St., Tippecanoe Library at 3912 S. Howell Ave., Washington Park Senior Center at 4420 W. Vliet St., Zablocki Library at 3501 W. Oklahoma Ave., and Zeidler Municipal Building at 841 N. Broadway.
Only city of Milwaukee residents can use early voting centers. Unlike on Election Day, early voters may cast a ballot at any city early voting site, regardless of their home address or usual polling place.
Johnson urged those voting absentee to turn in their ballots on time, citing an April incident when the U.S. Postal Service delivered hundreds of absentee ballots the day after Election Day.
“Unfortunately, those votes did not get counted,” he said. “If you do vote absentee by mail, please, please, please make sure you get those ballots turned in as quickly as you possibly can.”
In May, the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) surveyed Wisconsin county and municipal clerks about the incident and sent a letter to the U.S. Postal Service urging it to address delays. More recently, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Gov. Tony Evers sent a joint letter to Postmaster General David Steiner and members of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors raising similar concerns.
Previous guidance advised voters to mail absentee ballots at least one week before Election Day. Officials now recommend allowing at least 10 days, if not longer.
“If you’re not putting it in the mail today, please make sure that you put it inside of one of our official drop boxes,” Johnson said.
Milwaukee operates 14 secure ballot drop boxes. A full list of locations is available online. Voters may also return absentee ballots directly to their municipal clerk’s office or their polling place on Election Day.
Wisconsin is one of 36 states that require mailed absentee ballots to be received by Election Day to be counted. A lawsuit filed last week seeks to create an alternative for voters who believe their ballot will not arrive in time.
The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin filed a July 23 lawsuit targeting WEC guidance that prohibits people who request an absentee ballot from casting an in-person ballot if the mail ballot will not arrive by the time polls close on Election Day.
“Absent relief, WEC’s guidance will disenfranchise voters with late-arriving absentee ballots,” the complaint argues.
The lawsuit seeks to allow voters who believe their ballots will not arrive in time to cast a provisional ballot in person. It would be set aside and only be counted if the original ballot does not arrive by the deadline.
Aug. 6 is the deadline for most voters to request an absentee ballot by mail through My Vote Wisconsin.
According to WEC data, Milwaukee voters had requested 22,806 absentee ballots as of July 28. Of those, 22,753 had been sent to voters and 8,461 had been returned.
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