How do I register to vote?

To vote in Wisconsin you need to be registered and you can register any time up to and including election day. It is too late to register by mail for the Feb. 19 presidential primary; register in person in your city clerk's office. On election day, you can register at your polling place with ID and proof of address.

You can download a voter registration form here. More information on ID requirements is here.

Where do I vote?

The election division of the Wisconsin accountability board has just unveiled an online way to find your polling place simply by entering your address. It works for most Wisconsin communities.

If this does not work for you, contact your municipal clerk. You can find the phone number in the government pages of your phone book, or look up contact information here.

How do I vote absentee?

If you can't or just don't want to go to your polling place on election day and are already registered you can vote absentee. To get an absentee ballot, fill out an application and send it to your city clerk. You can look up your city clerk's address on this list. But you'll need to get your application to the clerk's office by the Thursday before the election. In the case of the Wisconsin presidential primary that would be Feb. 14.

You can also show up at your city clerk's office and apply for and even fill out your absentee ballot right there.

How does the Wisconsin primary work?

Wisconsin has what's called an open primary, meaning you do not have to be a declared member of a party to vote in its primary. However, you cannot vote in both primaries; you have to choose between voting for a Democrat or a Republican.

The primary determines how many delegates each candidate gets. These delegates are pledged to vote for that candidate at the party conventions in August and September.

For the Democrats, 74 delegates will be selected as a result of the primary. Eighteen so-called super-delegates also go to the convention unpledged to any candidate.

For the Republicans, the candidate who gets the most votes within a congressional district gets three delegates from that district. With eight districts in Wisconsin, the most a candidate can win outright is 24. But an additional 13 delegates are pledged to the candidate who gets the most votes in the state, and three more go to the convention as free agents.