State mails letters to voters who may have moved

The State of Wisconsin is mailing letters this week to approximately 234,000 registered voters who may have moved in-state or out of Wisconsin.

“We want voters to be prepared for 2020,” said Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin’s chief elections official. “This mailing is designed to help people who may have moved within Wisconsin make sure they’re ready to vote next year. It will not keep anyone eligible from voting. If you move, even to an apartment in the same building, you must update your voter record by reregistering.”

The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) is sending the letters to voters who have told another government agency that they have moved recently. These voters may have changed their address with the post office, updated their address with the Wisconsin DMV or applied for a driver license in another state.

The 2019 movers mailing will be different than previous mailings, Wolfe said. “We learned some important lessons from our first movers mailing in 2017, and our goal is to make this new mailing simple for voters to use.”

Instead of a folded postcard, recipients will get a letter with a perforated, tear-away postcard. Voters who have not moved can return the tear-away postcard or they can go online to MyVote.WI.gov to confirm their current address. Voters who have moved can reregister online at MyVote, by mail, at their municipal clerk’s offi ce or at their polling place on Election Day.

Another important change from 2017 is that voters who get the mailing will not be automatically removed from the active voter list if they do not respond to the mailing within a month. Voters who are sent the 2019 movers mailing will remain on the active poll list until after the April 2021 spring election. Those who have not voted or reregistered by then will be deactivated.

Wolfe noted that some voters who recently reregistered online may receive the letter because the mailing list is based on data from July 2019. “Voters who reregistered in the last few months can disregard this mailing,” she said. “Voters with questions about their status can check it online at MyVote.WI.gov or give us a call at 1-866-VOTE-WIS.”