Early voting to be discussed at Bayfield listening session

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has added a ninth listening session in Bayfield County to solicit input from local election officials and the general public about possible institution of an early voting process for 2010 elections. It will take place from 6-8 p.m. Aug. 13 in the Bayfield County Courthouse Annex, Emergency Operations Center, Washburn.

The board in late March adopted a staff report which included several options for administering early voting in Wisconsin. The board also asked staff to seek comment and suggested changes from the public, clerks and state legislators.

The report is posted in the “What’s New” section of the Elections Division homepage at http://gab.wi.gov. It presents three options for changing the current system of pre-Election Day (absentee) voting in Wisconsin: 1) simply streamlining the absentee voting process; 2) allowing individual municipalities to opt into an early voting system; or 3) conducting early voting through a system of regional districts throughout the state.

An early voting pilot has been recommended for 2010.

G.A.B. staff is holding a series of listening sessions around Wisconsin, and has just added the session in Bayfield County. In addition to the Washburn meeting, there will be a meeting from 6-8 p.m. Aug. 12 in the Rice Lake City Hall.

The input from the public and local election officials will be summarized and presented to G.A.B. members and state legislators who may consider early voting during the legislative session.

Comments from the public may be submitted directly to the board at the following address: gab@wi.gov.

Tags: news, bayfield, elections, voting