MILWAUKEE, Wisc., (SPECTRUM NEWS) - Voters in Wisconsin’s largest city have a new way to turn their ballots in for the November election. Thursday Milwaukee installed 15 absentee ballot drop boxes across the city.

Each drop box will be under 24-hour surveillance. Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee Election Commission executive director Claire Woodall-Vogg watched the first installation Thursday morning outside City Hall.

“It is imperative for the city to provide easily accessible, secure and timely opportunities for residents to return ballots,” Barrett said. “Equally important [they must] feel secure and feel complete confidence that their votes will be counted.”

Aside from City Hall, a drop box is outside the election commission’s warehouse on South Kinnikinnic Ave. The other ballot drop-off points are outside all 13 branches of the Milwaukee Public Library. Election officials will collect ballots from each location daily leading up to Election Day, and every other hour on Nov. 3.

For those who plan to vote in person, the November election will look a lot different than the April 7 spring election. Milwaukee staffed just five polling locations that day, which led to long lines and frustration, particularly at Riverside High School. This time around, the election commission is preparing to have at least 171 polling places available.

“We’ve had time to communicate, we’ve had time to plan and we’ve had time to create a really safe voting experience at polling places on Election Day,” Woodall-Vogg said.

The election commission has more than 1,100 new poll worker applicants since the Aug. 11 partisan primaries. The city is confident it will have more than 2,400 workers in place Nov 3, telling Milwaukeeans to expect little or no lines if they vote in person.

Milwaukee is scheduled to begin mailing absentee ballots next Wednesday. Voters using the new absentee drop boxes can check the status of their ballot at myvote.wi.gov 24 hours after they deposit it.