Elections

There will be an election worker training Tuesday, August 4, 2026 at 1 PM in the Rutledge Room for anyone interested in helping out. We will go over election day procedures, what's on the ballot, how the voting machine works, and answer questions. Workers can be compensated for their time.

Please contact the Town Office for more information at (920) 847-2522 or email townoffice@washingtonisland-wi.gov

Public Testing of Electronic Voting System

Tuesday, August 4, 2026 at 2 PM in the Washington Island Town Office, 910 Main Road, Washington Island, WI 54246

The Town of Washington will be holding public testing of the electronic voting system. The test shall be conducted by processing a pre-audited group of ballots so marked as to record a predetermined number of valid votes for each candidate and on each referendum (if any). The test will include for each office one or more ballots which have votes in excess of the number allowed by law, in order to test the ability of the automatic tabulating equipment to reject such votes. The Clerk shall make an errorless count before the automatic tabulating equipment is approved by the Clerk to use in the elections.

Type A Notice - N/A

Type E Notice - Spring Election

Voting by Absentee Ballot

Any qualified elector who is unable or unwilling to appear at the polling place on Election Day may submit a request to vote an absentee ballot to their municipal clerk. A qualified elector is any U.S. citizen who:

will be 18 years of age or older on Election Day
has resided in the ward or municipality where they wish to vote for at least 28 consecutive days before the election

The elector must also be registered to vote to receive an absentee ballot. Proof of identification must be provided before an absentee ballot may be issued*.

Making an application to receive an absentee ballot by mail:

Contact your municipal clerk and request that an application for an absentee ballot be sent to you for the primary or election or both. You may make written application to your municipal clerk for an absentee ballot in person, by mail, by fax, by email or at MyVote.wi.gov.

Your written request must include:

your voting address within the municipality where you wish to vote
the address where the absentee ballot should be sent, if different from the address above
your signature
a copy of your photo identification*

The deadline for making application to receive an absentee ballot by mail is:

5:00 p.m. on the fifth day before the election, Thursday, August 6, 2026.

*Voters who are indefinitely confined due to age, illness, infirmity, or disability may not be required to provide photo ID. If this applies to you, contact the municipal clerk regarding deadlines for requesting and submitting an absentee ballot.

**Special absentee voting application provisions apply to electors who are indefinitely confined, in the military, hospitalized, or serving as a sequestered juror. If this applies to you, contact the municipal clerk regarding deadlines for requesting and submitting an absentee ballot.

Voting an Absentee Ballot In-Person

You may also request and vote an absentee ballot in the clerk's office or other specified location during the days and hours specified for casting an absentee ballot in person.

Town of Washington

Alexandria McDonald

910 Main Road, PO BOX 220

Washington Island WI 54246

(920) 847-2522

Monday - Friday 8 AM to 3 PM

The first day to vote an absentee ballot in the clerk’s office is: Tuesday, July 28, 2026

The last day to vote an absentee ballot in the clerk's office is: Friday, August 7, 2026

No in-person absentee voting may occur on the day before the election. The municipal clerk will deliver voted ballots returned on or before Election Day to the proper polling place location before the polls close on Tuesday, August 11, 2026. Any ballots received after the polls close will not be counted.

Type C Notice

N/A

Type B Notice

Notice of Partisan Primary and Sample Ballot

August 11, 2026

Office of the Town of Washington Clerk

To the voters of the Town of Washington:

Notice is hereby given of a Partisan Primary to be held in the Town of Washington on August 11, 2026, at which the officers named below shall be nominated. The names of the candidates for each office, whose nominations have been certified to or filed in this office, are given under the title of the office, each in its proper column, together with the questions submitted to a vote, for a referendum, if any, in the sample ballot below.

Information to Voters

Upon entering the polling place and before being permitted to vote, a voter shall:

state their name and address
show an acceptable form of photo identification*
sign the poll book**

*If a voter does not have acceptable photo identification, the voter may obtain a free photo ID for voting from the Division of Motor Vehicles.

**If the voter is unable to sign the poll book due to disability, a poll worker may write the word “exempt.”

If a voter is not registered to vote, they may register to vote at the polling place serving their residence if the voter provides proof of residence.

Where ballots are distributed to voters, the initials of two inspectors must appear on the ballot.

Upon being permitted to vote, the voter shall enter a voting booth or go to a machine and cast their ballot. The vote should not be cast in any manner other than specified here. Sample ballots or other materials to assist the voter in marking their ballot may be taken into the booth and copied. The sample ballot shall not be shown to anyone so as to reveal how the ballot is marked.

A voter who is a parent or guardian may be accompanied by the voter's minor child or minor ward.

An election official may inform the voter of the proper manner for casting a vote but the official may not advise or indicate a particular voting choice.

Assistance for Voting

A voter may select an individual to assist in casting their vote if the voter declares to the presiding official that they are unable to read, have difficulty reading, writing, or understanding English, or that due to disability are unable to cast their ballot. The selected individual rendering assistance may not be the voter's employer or an agent of that employer or an officer or agent of a labor organization which represents the voter. If a voter is unable to state their name and address, an assistant may also do so for the voter.

At the partisan primary, the voter shall select the party of their choice. Voting for candidates of more than one party may invalidate the ballot. The voter must cast a vote for individual candidates.

Where Optical Scan Voting is Used

If a party preference is designated, and votes are cast for ballot candidates of another party or write-in votes are cast in another party, only votes cast in the designated party will count.

If a party preference is not designated, and votes are cast for candidates (or write-in votes are cast) in more than one party, no votes will be counted

Within the party of their choice, the voter shall fill in the oval next to the name of the candidate of their choice for each office for which they intend to vote. To vote for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot, the voter shall write in the name of the person of their choice in the space provided for a write-in vote and fill in the oval next to the write-in line.

When using an electronic ballot marking device to mark an optical scan ballot, the voter shall use the tactile pad to select the party of their choice. The voter shall then use the tactile pad to select the name of the candidate of their choice for each office for which they intend to vote. To vote for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot, the voter shall type in the name of the person of their choice in the space provided for a write-in vote.

Spoiled Ballots

If a voter spoils an optical scan ballot, they shall return it to an election official who shall issue another ballot in its place, but not more than three ballots shall be issued to any one voter. If the ballot has not been initialed by two inspectors or is defective in any other way, the voter shall return it to the election official, who shall issue a proper ballot in its place.

After Voting the Ballot

After an official optical scan ballot is marked, it may be inserted in the security sleeve, so the marks do not show. The voter shall then insert the ballot in the voting device and discard the sleeve or deliver the ballot to an inspector for deposit. The voter shall leave the polling place promptly.