Early absentee voting by mail in Wisconsin is tracking 80,000 ballots below where it stood at the same point four years ago, raising questions about voter turnout heading into the November 3 midterm election as the governor's race enters its final 3 weeks.
The numbers trail a cycle shaped by COVID-19 and a competitive U.S. Senate race that drove higher mail-in participation. Candidates on both sides of the governor's race say they are not pushing voters toward any single method of casting a ballot.
Joe Finney, a voter who previously voted absentee by mail, said he has since shifted his preference to voting in person.
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"I like the act of going in person. It's very convenient for me, but I know it's not for everyone," Finney said.
TMJ4 caught up with Democratic candidate David Crowley's campaign about the early voting numbers and what the drop means for the race.
"I'm encouraging everybody to vote the way that works for you." Crowley said.
Crowley also addressed concerns some voters have about mail-in ballots being delayed or arriving too late to be counted.
"If we're about 2 weeks away from this election, I would not encourage you to drop it into a mailbox. Go to your clerk office to make sure that that ballot is in somebody's hands to make sure that your ballot is counted," Crowley said.
Tom Tiffany's campaign for Governor said it has, "encouraged voters to cast their ballots in whichever way works best for them."
Republicans say their strategy has not shifted either. Hilario Deleon, Chairman of the Republican Party in Milwaukee County said the party's approach remains the same as they focus on turning out new voters.
"There's nothing that we've changed." DeLeon said, whenit comes to getting out the vote with new voters.
"We have ward captains educating them on how to vote by absentee ballot, early vote, or on election day, just letting them know that it's easy, it's safe, and their vote will count. That is the mission that we're trying to get done," DeLeon said.
If more people have opted to vote early by in-person absentee ballot, those numbers will be available when that option begins on October 20th.
This story was reported on-air by Charles Benson and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
