Absentee Ballots Rise in Milwaukee

The Wisconsin Elections Commission finds that in Milwaukee as of Oct. 13 over 114,679 voter absentee ballots have already been returned as of Oct. 13 with over 229,769 absentee ballots being sent out to voters already around the Milwaukee area.

For the 2020 presidential election, there are almost more people in Milwaukee county that have voted via absentee ballots than all of Wisconsin did for the 2016 presidential election. In 2016, 146,294 absentee ballots were mailed in for the election. According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, in Milwaukee, 114,320 Wisconsin residents have mailed in their ballots while all of Wisconsin saw only 120,000 absentee voters.

The number of voter absentee ballots has more than tripled when compared to the last presidential election in 2016. In the last election, only 17,334 people in Milwaukee voted by absentee ballot.

According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, over 1.3 million ballots have already been sent to voters across all of Wisconsin to voters for the upcoming November election. According to the daily Wisconsin Election Commission report, of the over 1 million ballots sent out to Wisconsin voters, only 717, 164 of these ballots have been returned at this time to the clerk’s offices in Wisconsin.

Ellen Benson is a UWM student staying on campus for this semester, but is originally from Minnesota and will be sending her absentee ballot back home for the November election.

“I think it’s important for people to vote no matter their age or in what way they turn in their ballot to vote,” said Benson. “For young voters, it’s important to vote and let your voice and opinions be heard, so you can make change in your community and across the country.”

Across the UW-Milwaukee campus, the reasoning behind the move is the same, to stay at home and stay safe from the dangers of Covid-19. According to UW-Milwaukee students like Annabelle Moon, another reason popular amongst students was how long the lines were in the primary election earlier in the year.

“The lines for the primary election were way too long, so I decided that absentee voting was the safest, and most convenient choice,” said UWM student Carly Minor.

Annabelle Moon is a UWM freshman and first-time voter who is one of the thousands of Milwaukee residents to already turn in her ballot for the November election.

“It is our civic duty as Americans in this country to vote, a lot of people in our history have fought for the right to vote, especially for woman like myself and if we don’t vote then their fight and struggle was all for nothing,” said Moon. “I believe that if your someone who complains about the government and what they’re doing you should vote and let your voice be heard and if you do not vote, then you don’t have the right to complain.”

According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, voter turnout in previous 2020 elections already seems to have fallen once again when compared to the 2016 primary election, despite numerous efforts to push people to vote. According to the Wisconsin Elections Commissions primary election report, when looking at the 2020 primary elections, voter turnout is down to only 35%, which is over a 10% drop when compared to the 2016 primary election.

For someone like Minor, a UW-Milwaukee student who is one of the thousands of Milwaukee residents that are deciding to vote with by absentee ballot this year.

This supports the trend seen in Milwaukee county over the last several elections with voter turnout falling lower than the previous election. According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, In 2012, Milwaukee saw 494,000 voters with around a 69% voter turnout, that number fell in 2016 with only a 61% voter turnout. According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission 2016 general election report, this trend can also be seen state-wide with only 2.9 million votes casted for the 2016 general election.

“It’s 100% important for all people to vote in this upcoming election, especially for young voters and college students,” said Minor. “It’s young voters like us because we are the future of this country, we have to live and deal with the results of elections, which makes elections like this upcoming one especially important.”

The smaller percentage of voter turnout is decreasing steadily despite the fact that the Wisconsin population has only grown over the last decade. According to the United States Census Bureau, the population in Wisconsin now sits around 5.6 million people. It is estimated that over 4.5 million of these people are eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election.