Absentee Voting For Recall Election Brisk

The gubernatorial recall election isn't for another 12 days, but many people are getting a jump-start on voting.

Absentee voting, which began Monday, has been high in Oak Creek and throughout the state. City Clerk Catherine Roeske said roughly 970 Oak Creek residents were either issued absentee ballots or voted in person at through the first three days of absentee voting.

About 200 people voted at city hall on Monday through Wednesday -- already double the number of early voters in the May 8 primary, Roeske said.

Absentee ballot requests are also way up. There were 65 temporary absentee ballot requests for the primary, compared to 428 so far for the general election.

"Temporary" requests are for people wanting a one-time absentee ballot, whereas a "permanent" absentee ballot request is for people who regularly vote absentee. About 350 people are on the permanent ballot list, which doesn't fluctuate as much.

Roeske said the clerk's office has been hard at work this week getting absentee ballots out, and said the high number issued so far is likely an indicator of a healthy turnout on June 5.

At the least, turnout should be well over the .

Across the state, local election officials have issued at least 90,000 ballots for residents taking advantage of absentee voting.

That compares to a total of 68,000 absentee ballots issued for the May 8 primary.

"These numbers confirm anecdotal reports we are hearing from local election officials that there is strong interest in absentee voting," said Kevin Kennedy, director and general counsel of the Government Accountability Board, in a statement.

In-person absentee voting at City Hall continues through 5 p.m. June 1. The deadline for voters to request an absentee ballot by mail is 5 p.m. May 31. Absentee ballot applications are available from the clerk's office in City Hall, 8640 S. Howell Ave., or on the GAB website.

Roeske and Kennedy also said they continue to get complaints about absentee ballot mailers sent out by political parties and interest groups that contain campaign messages.

The mailers are permissible, but the return mailer comes with the address of the voter's local municipal clerk, which has led many people to wrongly assume the clerk was responsible for it.