Fiscal Note
In 2013 the Clerk's Office calculated the cost of postage, materials, and staff time required to issue an absentee, and found that it cost $0.55 to issue an absentee ballot in-person, and $4.79 to issue an absentee ballot through the mail. Establishing absentee voting locations throughout the City of Madison is likely to reduce the costs associated with mailing absentee ballots.
Title
Establishing absentee voting locations for the November 2016 General Election.
Body
WHEREAS, voting is both a right and the vital core of a healthy democracy; and
WHEREAS, the goal of the Madison City Clerk's Office is that each eligible voter will be able to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted; and
WHEREAS, the state-imposed restrictions on absentee voting locations and hours have been declared unconstitutional because they intentionally discriminated on the basis of race; and
WHEREAS, municipalities may now establish multiple sites for casting an absentee ballot; and
WHEREAS, offering multiple locations and extended hours for in-person absentee voting should reduce the amount of time absentee voters need to stand in line; and
WHEREAS, absentee ballots cast in-person are less likely to be rejected at the polls due to missing signatures or witness addresses; and
WHEREAS, it is inequitable to limit in-person absentee voting to Madison residents who are able to obtain transportation downtown; and
WHEREAS, offering extended in-person absentee voting hours at multiple sites throughout the City may further racial equity for residents who have not historically been involved in the voting process;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Madison chooses to make in-person absentee voting more accessible and equitable by establishing the following in-person absentee voting locations and hours for the November 2016 General Election:
City Clerk's Office
210 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd. #103
8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, September 26 through ...
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