Election Websites: Wisconsin

Fact Sheet Read time:
Projects: Election Initiatives & Government Performance Project
Election Websites: Wisconsin

Return to report home page. 

WI BONE2                           

Researchers assessed state election websites for the Pew Center on the States between May-November 2010, using detailed criteria evaluating the content, lookup tools, and usability. Websites may have changed since they were assessed. See methodology (PDF).

Strengths include:

  • Easy-to-use, all-in-one lookup tool that allows voters to find their polling place based on street address; view a sample ballot; check their registration, status of absentee ballots, and provisional ballots; and view a personalized list of elected officials.
  • Complete information about registering to vote, including eligibility, residency, forms and deadlines, public access to records, and instructions for updating and confirming registration.
  • Registration resources for people in special circumstances, including those who are hospitalized, homeless, college students, felons, members of the military, those living overseas, and residents of long-term-care facilities.
  • Detailed contact information for state and local election offices.
  • A home page that is easy to scan and makes it simple for voters to find information specifically for them.

Recommended improvements include:

  • Provide basic information on statewide ballot measures (43 states offer).
  • Post a privacy policy for the website (42 states offer) and explain data-collection practices and the measures the state takes to protect the privacy of users' personal information (40 offer).
  • Offer candidate information such as phone numbers (23 states offer), e-mail addresses (19 offer), websites (20 offer), candidate statements (6 offer), and occupations (6 offer).
  • Note the hours of operation for local election offices (14 states offer).
  • Provide prominent placement of links to voter registration resources (currently accessible only in a section of the site for election clerks).
  • Improve navigation by making it more visible, instead of relying on users to roll over the navigation bar so that more links will drop down.
  • Make text more concise and easier to scan and understand by using bullets and writing at the eighth-grade level.

Noteworthy Feature: The website features complete and nicely laid out directories of Wisconsin's county and municipal election clerks, including the names and e-mail addresses of clerks and deputy clerks, plus the offices' street address, fax, phone, and links to each agency's website.

Initial Quick Fix: Relocate critical information about absentee voting from the FAQ page to the Absentee Ballot page, where users are more likely to look for it.

Summary: Wisconsin's state election website earns a high score, and offers all five recommended lookup tools and strong content.

http://gab.wi.gov was assessed for content and lookup tools.

http://gab.wi.gov/elections-voting was assessed for usability.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
RELATED
Tags
Election administration
Projects
Election Initiatives Government Performance Project
Places
Wisconsin

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Two large pelicans with long, curved necks and large orange-yellow bills glide across a calm body of water, surrounded by lush vegetation and bathed in soft sunlight. A blue heron is visible in the background.

Article

March 12, 2024 Wisconsin Reserve Would Protect Great Lakes Estuary
An adult and a child huddle in front of a laptop computer, their faces lit by the screen, with a room and bright windows behind them.

Article

November 27, 2023 Researchers Share How State Grants Boost Broadband Access
A group of teenagers gather in a park with bikes, their silhouettes in high contrast to the cloudy sky behind them.

Article

November 2, 2023 Insights on Brain Development Can Improve Youth Justice

MORE FROM PEW

An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.