League Clarifies Voter Registration Project Misunderstandings

The League of Women Voters of Door County wishes to clarify any misunderstandings that may have occurred regarding their current project of conducting Voter Registration drives throughout the county.

The Government Accountability Board (GAB) of Wisconsin has been training interested parties throughout the state to become Special Deputy Registrars (SDR). These individuals can register voters on behalf of organizations or simply as interested parties. A number of Door County citizens have taken this training, have been appointed by the GAB as SDRs, and have been registering voters in keeping with Wisconsin law.

Because of its strict non-partisan policy, the LWV of Door County has authorized only two of its members – Barbara Graul and Susan Kohout who were trained by the GAB in June – to conduct completely non-partisan voter registration drives.

County residents can also register to vote by contacting their Municipal Clerk in the municipality in which they reside. SDRs cannot register voters beyond August 20, 2008 for the September 9 Partisan Primary Election, and the registration deadline for the November 4, 2008 Fall Election is Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 5 pm. After the deadline dates, voters may only register in the Municipal Clerk’s Office or at the polls on Election Day.

The League of Women Voters encourages potential voters to take advantage of the opportunity to register with their municipal clerk or an SDR whenever they have the chance. Whether the opportunity is a drive conducted by Graul and Kohout as a League of Women Voters’ activity or whether other SDRs are conducting the drive as individuals or representatives of other organizations, the most important thing is to register and vote!