Your guide to the Aug. 14 election

Can you vote for candidates in multiple parties? That and more answers.

Wisconsin voters in the Aug. 14 partisan primary elections will be reminded to select only candidates from one political party as they navigate through an unusually long list of state, congressional, legislative and county primary races on the ballot that day.

Crossover voting is not allowed in partisan primary elections in Wisconsin, so voters must choose one party to favor in all races and stick with it, Wisconsin Elections Commission officials said.

For example, voters selecting a candidate in the Democratic primary for governor will not be able to vote in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Likewise, voters in the Democratic primary for Milwaukee County sheriff cannot select a Republican candidate in any of the other partisan primaries on the ballot.

This has been the tradition here since 1905 when state lawmakers embraced partisan primaries to give voters the opportunity to directly choose candidates for the fall general elections. It was a reform measure enacted to take that power away from lumber barons and other political party bosses of the time.

Since 2010, partisan primary elections have attracted 15% to 20% of the state’s voting age population, according to commission records.

Crowded ballots

On Aug. 14, switching between parties could be tempting for voters looking at an eight-person Democratic field asking for a chance to take on Gov. Scott Walker in the Nov. 6 general election. On the same ballot, there will be five Republicans seeking their party’s nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

In other statewide races, there is a Democratic primary for lieutenant governor and both Republican and Democratic primaries for secretary of state and treasurer.

There are partisan primaries in races for four U.S.

House seats representing Districts 1, 4, 5 and 7.

Unlike many other states, Wisconsin does not register voters by party affiliation. Voters in partisan primaries here can select a party preference at the top of the Aug. 14 ballots. Then the optical scan machine will not count any stray votes for candidates of another party.

No desire to select a party preference? If you then switch between parties, the entire ballot will be rejected by optical scan machines and none of your votes will be counted, said Reid Magney, the commission’s public information officer. You will be given a second chance, or even a third, to get it right.

Warning signs will be posted at polling places, Magney said.

In Milwaukee County, three Democrats are running in the partisan primary to replace former Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., who resigned in August 2017.

Here’s what you need to know heading into the primary:

This has been the tradition here since 1905 when state lawmakers embraced partisan primaries to give voters the opportunity to directly choose candidates for the fall general elections. It was a reform measure enacted to take that power away from lumber barons and other political party bosses of the time.

Voting basics

Only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote in Wisconsin.

You must be registered to vote. You can register at your local municipal clerk’s office until the close of business on Aug. 10, the Friday before the election. Or you can register at the polling place on election day.

You must provide a proof of residence document when registering to vote. Among the acceptable documents: a valid driver’s license, utility bill, paycheck or pay stub, bank statement, residential lease.

You can check your registration status at the My Vote Wisconsin website.

Know your polling place

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 14.

Your assigned polling place is based on where you live. You can find your polling place by entering your address at myvote.wi.gov.

If you have moved, you must vote at the polling place for your new address if you have lived there for at least 10 days and you will have to register.

Voters who have moved within Wisconsin less than 10 days before the election must vote from their previous address.

Show that ID

All registered voters will need to show an acceptable photo ID to vote at a polling place. Among the photo IDs acceptable for voting are a Wisconsin Department of Transportation-issued driver license; a Wisconsin DOT-issued identification card; a U.S. passport; a military ID card issued by a U.S. uniformed service; a veteran’s photo ID card issued by the Veterans Health Administration of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs; and an ID card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe in Wisconsin.

More information on the photo ID requirement is available at bringitwisconsin.com.

The address on your ID doesn’t have to match your current address.

Make sure you’re eligible

You are not eligible to vote in Wisconsin if you have been convicted of a felony and you are currently serving any portion of your sentence (including extended supervision, probation or parole, also known as being “on paper”), according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Once you successfully complete your sentence and are no longer under the supervision of the Department of Corrections, your voting rights are restored, and you regain your eligibility to vote. You must re-register to vote.