In-person absentee balloting starts Tuesday

In-person absentee balloting for the Aug. 11 primary is due to start Tuesday across Wisconsin. Voters may cast a ballot at their municipal clerk’s office by appointment or, in the city of Oconto, the clerk’s office is open for voting from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday through Aug. 7.

No in-person absentee voting may occur on the day before the election. Extended in-person absentee voting hours may be available by appointment. The municipal clerk will deliver voted ballots returned on or before Election Day to the proper polling place before the polls close Aug. 11. Any ballots received after the polls close will not be counted.

Any qualified elector who is unable or unwilling to appear at the polling place on Election Day may submit a request to vote an absentee ballot to their municipal clerk. The elector must also be registered in order to receive an absentee ballot. Proof of identification must be provided before an absentee ballot may be issued.

You must make a request for an absentee ballot in writing or online at MyVote.wi.gov. The deadline for making application to receive an absentee ballot by mail is 5 p.m. on the fifth day before the election, which is Aug. 6.

Three partisan primaries affect parts of Oconto County in this election.

Two Democrats and one Republican will vie for the 30th Senate District seat that Sen. Dave Hansen has held for the past 20 years. Hansen’s nephew, Jonathon Hansen of De Pere, and Sandra Ewald of Green Bay will be on the Aug. 11 Democratic primary ballot.

The primary winner will face Eric Wimberger, a Green Bay Republican, in the Nov. 3 general election.

State Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, has a Republican primary opponent in his quest for an eighth two-year term serving the 89th Assembly District. Andi Rich of Marinette describes herself as a more moderate Republican than Nygren.

The winner on Aug. 11 will face Karl Jaeger of Marinette in the general election.

The 89th District, and that part of the 30th Senate District that crosses Oconto County, includes the city of Oconto and the towns of Abrams, Little River, Little Suamico, Pensaukee and Stiles.

Oconto County has a tiny swath of one other district. Ward 5 in the village of Pulaski is part of the 6th Assembly District, where Simon Moesch and Richard Sarnwick, both of Shawano, are on the ballot for the Democratic nomination for the seat now held by Rep. Gary Tauchen, R-Bonduel. However, Moesch recently announced he is dropping out of the race.