Elections

There will be an election worker training TBD 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

TBD 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 - Spring Election

NOTICE OF SPRING ELECTION

Town of Washington - Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Election Details

An election is to be held in the Town of Washington, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. The following offices are to be elected to succeed the present incumbents listed:

Office - Incumbent

Town Board Chair - Hans Lux

Town Board Supervisor - Martin Andersen

Town Board Supervisor - Margaret Foss

Office Terms

The term for all offices is for two years beginning on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.

For Candidates

The first day to circulate nomination papers is December 1, 2024, and the final day for filing nomination papers is 5:00 p.m., on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, in the office of the Town Clerk.

Primary Election

If a primary is necessary, the primary will be held on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.

Additional Information

Acceptable Photo ID will be required to vote at this election. If you do not have a photo ID you may obtain a free ID for voting from the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Notification of Noncandidacy

Download Chairman Lux Notification of Noncandidacy filed December 23, 2024

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, March 27, 2025.

*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, March 18, 2025

The last day to vote an absentee ballot in the clerk's office is: Friday, March 28, 2025

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, February 18, 2025. Any ballots received after the polls close will not be counted.

Type C Notice

NOTICE OF REFERENDUM ELECTION

APRIL 1, 2025

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that at an election to be held in the several towns, villages, city, wards, and election districts of the County of Door, State of Wisconsin, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, the following question will be submitted to a vote of the people pursuant to law:

2025 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 2

To create section 1m of article III of the constitution; relating to: requiring photographic identification to vote in any election (second consideration).

Whereas, the 2023 legislature in regular session considered a proposed amendment to the constitution in 2023 Senate Joint Resolution 73, which became 2023 Enrolled Joint Resolution 9, and agreed to it by a majority of the members elected to each of the two houses, which proposed amendment reads as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1m of article III of the constitution is created to read:

[Article III] Section 1m (1) No qualified elector may cast a ballot in any election unless the elector presents valid photographic identification that verifies the elector’s identity and that is issued by this state, the federal government, a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in this state, or a college or university in this state. The legislature shall by law establish acceptable forms of photographic identification, and the legislature may by law establish exceptions to the requirement under this subsection.

(2) A qualified elector who is unable to present valid photographic identification on election day shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot may not be counted unless the elector presents valid photographic identification at a later time and place as provided by the legislature by law.

SECTION 2. Numbering of new provision. If another constitutional amendment ratified by the people creates the number of any provision created in this joint resolution, the chief of the legislative reference bureau shall determine the sequencing and the numbering of the provisions whose numbers conflict.

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the foregoing proposed amendment to the constitution is agreed to by the 2025 legislature; and, be it further

Resolved, That the foregoing proposed amendment to the constitution be submitted to a vote of the people at the election to be held on the first Tuesday of April 2025; and, be it further

Resolved, That the questions concerning ratification of the foregoing proposed amendment to the constitution be stated on the ballot as follows:

QUESTION 1: “Photographic identification for voting. Shall section 1m of article III of the constitution be created to require that voters present valid photographic identification verifying their identity in order to vote in any election, subject to exceptions which may be established by law?”

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT AS TO THE QUESTION

The Wisconsin Constitution provides that “[o]nly a United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district in this state is a qualified elector of that district who may vote in an election for national, state, or local office or at a statewide or local referendum.” Wis. Const. art. III, § 2. The referendum question would add a new provision to Wis. Const. art. III to require that voters present valid photographic identification to exercise their rights as electors.

The proposed constitutional text would provide that acceptable photographic identification must be “issued by this state, the federal government, a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in this state, or a college or university in this state.” The proposal therefore would exclude identification such as out-of-state driver’s licenses and tribal identification issued by non-Wisconsin tribes.

The proposal would allow, but not require, the legislature to create exceptions to the identification requirement. Courts have held that some exceptions are required by the U.S. Constitution. The proposal would also prevent future legislatures from repealing statutory photographic identification requirements altogether.

A “yes” vote would vote to create a new article III, section 1m of the Wisconsin Constitution to require voters to present “valid photographic identification” in order to vote.

A “no” vote would vote not to create the new constitutional provision.

Type B Notice

Notice of Spring Election and Sample Ballot

April 1, 2025

Office of the Town of Washington Clerk

To the voters of the Town of Washington:

Notice is hereby given of a Spring Election to be held in the Town of Washington on April 1, 2025, 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.

Where Paper Ballots are Used

The voter shall make a mark (X) in the square 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. On referendum questions, the voter shall make a mark (X) in the square next to "yes" if in favor of the question, or the voter shall make a mark (X) in the square next to "no" if opposed to the question.

Where Optical Scan Voting is Used

The voter shall fill in the oval or connect the arrow 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 or connect the arrow next to the write-in line. On referendum questions, the voter shall fill in the oval or connect the arrow next to "yes" if in favor of the question, or the voter shall fill in the oval or connect the arrow next to "no" if opposed to the question.

When using an electronic ballot marking device (“Automark,” “ExpressVote,” Clear Access or “ImageCast Evolution-ICE”) to mark an optical scan ballot, the voter shall touch the screen or use the tactile pad to select the name of the candidate of his or her choice for each office for which he or she intends 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 his or her choice in the space provided for a write-in vote. On referendum questions, the voter shall touch the screen or use the tactile pad to select "yes" if in favor of the question, or the voter shall touch the screen or use the tactile pad to select "no" if opposed to the question.

Where Touch Screen Voting is Used

The voter shall touch the screen or us 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. On referendum questions, the voter shall touch the screen at "yes" if in favor of the question, or the voter shall touch the screen at "no" if opposed to the question.

After Voting the Ballot

After an official paper ballot is marked, it shall be folded so the inside marks do not show, but so the printed endorsements and inspectors' initials on the outside do show. The voter shall deposit the voted ballot in the ballot box or deliver the ballot to an inspector for deposit and shall leave the polling place promptly.

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

After an official touch screen ballot is cast, the voter shall leave the polling place promptly.

Spoiling Ballots

If a voter spoils a paper or 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.

The voter may spoil a touch screen ballot at the voting station before the ballot is cast.

The following is a sample of the official ballot:

Download Sample Ballot