National Vote Early Day: What To Know In Brookfield

BROOKFIELD, WI— All but six states in the U.S., plus Washington, D.C., offer early voting, either in person or by mail. By Saturday, all but three of those states will have opened their polling places to the public.

Saturday is national Vote Early Day, a movement created by a coalition of nonprofits, businesses, election administrators and others to ensure every American has the chance to vote on or before Election Day.

Early voting, both in person and by mail, gives voters the chance to cast a ballot while avoiding crowded polling places and risking contracting the COVID-19 virus, according to the national Vote Early Day campaign.

Early voting in Wisconsin started Oct. 20 and ends on Nov. 1.

When polls are open varies by municipality and polling place. You can find the hours for polling places in Brookfield here: Brookfield 2020 Election Guide.

Some states allow residents to cast mail-in ballots, which can be returned by mail, in a ballot drop box or to a voting place or election office. Your completed absentee ballot must be delivered no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day. The U.S. Postal Service recommends absentee ballots be mailed one week before Election Day to arrive in time.

For the city of Brookfield:

Location: City Hall Clerk's Office, 2000 N Calhoun Road Brookfield WI 53005Dates: Begins Tuesday, October 20 Ends: Friday, October 30Hours: 8 a.m.. to 5 p.m. (Weekdays, Monday–Friday)
The Number of Absentee Ballots Issued, Returned and Outstanding by Close of Polls on Election Day will be posted here by no later than 10 p.m., on Election Day:

Special note: Due to social distancing, even if you vote absentee in person prior to Election Day, you may still need to wait in a line. Voters may need to wait outside in inclement weather to ensure social distancing protocol is being followed. In addition, all those using in-person absentee voting are encouraged to wear a mask and bring their own black ball point pen.

In the Town of Brookfield in-person absentee voting hours are
Tuesday, Oct. 20 – Friday, Oct. 23 from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 26- Thursday, Oct. 29 from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct 30 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Rules and regulations around voting vary by state. Here’s what voters in Wisconsin should know before heading to the polls: Wisconsin Election Commission.

A Pew Research Center study found that more than half of voters in the 2020 presidential primary elections voted by mail in the 37 states studied, roughly double the number of voters who opted to use mail-in ballots in the 2018 and 2016 general elections.

The rise in mail-in voting parallels an overall increase in voter turnout in 2020. Thirteen days before the general election, voters had already vastly exceeded previous years’ turnout rates with more than 40 million Americans having already cast a ballot.

This increase could be attributed in part to a handful of states that opted to automatically mail ballots to every registered voter and another dozen states that mailed absentee ballot applications to everyone registered.

In 19 states studied by the U.S. Elections Project, significantly more registered Democrats had voted than registered Republicans. As of Oct. 21, 52 percent of early voters who have cast a ballot so far are registered Democrats while 26.1 percent are registered Republicans.

Another 22 percent of voters had either no party affiliation or were registered with a minor party.