Eau Claire (WQOW)- Election
day will be here soon, but some voters are heading to the polls early.
"We've had over fifty voters in
the first hour," says Donna Austad, Eau Claire City Clerk.
Monday was the first day of early
in-person absentee voting.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see
a twenty to twenty-five percent of the vote are cast this year by absentee
ballots," says Austad.
"I just wanted to be sure there
weren't any problems. If I had waited until November 6 and there had been any
sort of a mix up I wouldn't have been able to fix it so being aware a little
bit early I think is a good idea. And you never know what's going to happen, I
could get sick or have to go out of town or something," says Mary Jurmain.
There are some things voters need to
keep in mind before they head to the polls.
"The legislature made some
changes that went into effect in January. One of those being that when the
voter comes in on election day you need to sign the poll book. The other major
change is the 28 day residency requirement," says Austad.
In the past, in order to register
you had to have lived at your current residence for at least ten days, that's
been increased to 28.
"I was surprised there were as
many people as there were, but it was quick and easy to do," says bill
Papendieck.
Eau Claire residents can vote in person Monday
through Friday at City Hall from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through November 2.
