Time for another Ballot Bulletin where we highlight the processes in place to ensure our elections are fair, accessible, and secure. Today, let's dive into the new Absentee Ballot Certificate Envelope Redesign.

Voting early - either in person or by mail - gives many voters the flexibility they need to vote on their own schedule. Whether you're a college student, snow bird, have travel plans, are working on election day, or just want to avoid the crowds on Election Day there are many reasons to vote early! And luckily here in Wisconsin voters don't need an excuse to vote early! 

For voters looking to take advantage of their early voting options next year, things have gotten a little bit easier. The Wisconsin Elections Commission recently updated the return envelope to make the certificate more user friendly for both voters and election officials. 

Over the course of several months, the Wisconsin Elections Commission conducted several rounds of usability testing and design revisions with input from voters, poll workers, local clerks, and the U.S. Postal Service. 

The absentee ballot certificate envelopes are now color-coded to indicate which type of ballot is contained in the envelope. 

• Blue envelopes will be used for outgoing envelopes mailed to voters from municipal clerks. 

• Purple envelopes will be used for standard return envelopes that voters mail in. 

• Teal envelopes will be used for return envelopes from care facility-based voters.

• Brown envelopes will be used for return envelopes from military or overseas voters. 

The new absentee ballot certificate envelopes are more user friendly with the use of bolded text, and full color designs that alert voters to fill out the required information to ensure their ballot is counted. 

The new envelope colors also help postal workers identify ballots to speed up the mailing process. It is important to note that no changes were made to the ballots themselves. View new designs.