MADISON, Wis. — You could soon be able to track the status of your absentee ballot in upcoming elections with text notifications.

Lawmakers in Madison have brought forth legislation they believe would cut down on the workload of local clerks, without adding a bunch of expensive costs.

What You Need To Know

  • Assembly Bill 38 would create a text notification system for voters who provide a mobile phone number to track the status of their absentee ballot
  • The My Vote website allows voters to track a ballot, but those in favor of the bill said mobile messages would add more transparency

  • Lawmakers hope the bipartisan legislation can reduce the workload for election workers

“They do get calls just saying, ‘Hey, did you send out my ballot yet? Did you get my application?’ So, some of those issues that are maybe small in terms of the time frame can be addressed simply by having this optional text message service,” State Rep. David Steffen, R-Green Bay, explained.

Wisconsinites can already track their ballot using the My Vote website, but those in favor of the bill say text notifications would add even more transparency.

“With Wisconsin voters, over 1.5 million tracked their absentee ballots through My Vote Wisconsin during the 2020 general election, and AB 38 builds on this popular system without putting any additional burden on local election administrators,” Secure Democracy USA Director of Advocacy Peter Skopec told lawmakers.

Election workers tend to agree a text system could help streamline the process.

“I love the idea of the ability to get out more information and starting with the small stuff first because that’s the easiest piece to get out,” Rock Co. Clerk Lisa Tollefson added. “‘Have you gotten my ballot?’ that’s so important, ‘Have you gotten my ballot, yet?’ I have to tell you, I got stuck in the airport over the weekend, and I really like getting a text message reminding me how late my plane is going to be.”

The bipartisan bill seems to have broad support and could be on track to easily clear future legislative hurdles.

Related Stories