Eligibility to Vote Absentee

A qualified elector who is unable or unwilling to appear at the polling place on election day may vote an absentee ballot. You must be registered to vote in order to vote absentee. Both items can be handled at the same time for those persons who are not registered to vote in Oak Creek.

A sample ballot is available for review prior to voting absentee or in person on election day.

Requesting an Absentee Ballot

A written request must be submitted by the qualified elector to obtain an absentee ballot.  You can make the request through:

• In-person submission
• Letter
• Email
• Fax (followed by mailing the original with your signature)

The written request may also be made by completing, signing and submitting an EL-121 – Request for Absentee Ballot form.  If the application is made in person at the Clerk's office, the application will not be accepted earlier than 14 days preceding the election per SS 6.86(1)(b). A mailed application shall be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 5th day immediately preceding the election.

Information Required in Your Request

When requesting an absentee ballot, include the following:

• A copy of your photo ID
• Full name
• Residential address (and mailing address if different)
• The election(s) for which the absentee ballot is requested
• Military voter status (if applicable)
• Declaration that you meet the voting requirements
• Signature and date

The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail is the 6th day before the election.

Submitting Absentee Ballot Requests for Others

You are permitted to pick up and return a Request for Absentee Ballot form on behalf of another qualified elector. The completed form must be returned to the Clerk’s Office for the ballot to be mailed.

Receiving and Returning Your Absentee Ballot

Once the request for an absentee ballot is received, the ballot will be mailed to you at the address indicated on your application. The ballot is voted as instructed at the top, placed in the return envelope and sealed. Do not sign the ballot itself. However, you must sign the outside of the envelope in front of one witness who must also sign the outside of the envelope, and include their home address. Your witness may be a spouse, neighbor, friend, etc., as long as they are 18 years of age and a U.S. citizen.

If your absentee ballot is mailed to you, it may be returned to the City Clerk’s Office via U.S. Mail or personally delivered to City Hall during regular hours.

Ballot Return Assistance for Disabled Voters

Under the Voting Rights Act, any voter requiring ballot return assistance due to a disability may select any person to serve as their agent providing ballot return assistance, provided that the person is not the voter's employer, an agent of their employer, or an officer or agent of the voter's union. This includes having a third-party return their absentee ballot to the clerk, in -person or through the mail.

Deadlines for Requesting Absentee Ballots 

The application must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 5th day before the election. There are exceptions as follows:

• Absentee electors may vote in person at the City Clerk’s Office until 5:00 p.m. the Friday before the election
• Military and indefinitely confined electors have until 5:00 p.m. on the 4th day before the election to make a request
• Hospitalized and sequestered juror electors have until 5:00 p.m. on election day to request an absentee ballot

Permanent Absentee Voter Status

The elector may also specifically request to automatically receive an absentee ballot for every election within a calendar year.

An elector indefinitely confined because of age, illness, infirmity or disability, may request an absentee ballot be sent to them for every election until they are either no longer confined, or fail to return a ballot for an election. This is considered a permanent absentee voter.

If an elector fails to return any one ballot, that elector will not receive any additional absentee ballots, unless they file a new absentee ballot request within 30 days. The ballot may be returned with no votes cast, but the ballot must be returned to the City Clerk’s Office in order to receive a ballot for the next election.

Absentee Ballot Availability

Absentee ballots are available two weeks before each election. If you anticipate being unable to vote in person, submit your request for an absentee ballot early or contact the City Clerk’s Office to confirm ballot availability for in-person absentee voting.

In-Person Absentee Voting Rules

If voting in person, the unmarked ballots may not leave City Hall. They must be voted immediately. No one may take a ballot to another person away from City Hall, except as a hospitalized elector, for which special provisions apply.

Contact the City Clerk’s Office for information relating to hospitalized and/or sequestered juror electors.