Wisconsin's April election is today. There's the presidential primary, 2 state referendums and lots of local races.

Hope Karnopp, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Updated April 3, 2024 at 1:00 AM·16 min read

Wisconsin holds its spring and presidential preference election Tuesday.

This election includes the presidential primary, where voters will select their choices for president. While all candidates except President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have dropped out, their names still appear on the ballot.

Voters everywhere will weigh in on two statewide referendum questions that ask about private funding in election administration and the role of election officials.

Other races on the ballot depend on where you live. Some voters will have referendums for school and public safety funding, plus elections for local offices like mayor, city council, county board and school board.

Here's what to know about voting in Wisconsin today and what races and referendums you should expect to see on your ballot:

More: Wisconsin spring election live updates today: Presidential primary, referendums, polling places, ballot, registration info and more

More: Wisconsin's 2024 presidential primary election: date, who's on the ballot, voting deadlines

Where do I vote in Wisconsin? When are polls open?

Polls are open between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. in Wisconsin. As long as you're in line by 8 p.m., you'll be allowed to vote.

You can find your polling place by entering your address into "Find my Polling Place" on myvote.wi.gov. On that website, you can also check ahead of time to see what's on your ballot and see if you're already registered to vote.

What do I need to bring to vote in Wisconsin?

To vote, you need to bring a current photo ID that has your name on it. The Wisconsin Elections Commission's website has a list of accepted forms of identification.

You also can register to vote at your polling place, or re-register if you've changed addresses since the last time you voted or haven't voted in the last four years. In that case, you'll need to bring a document to show proof of residence.

A driver's license or ID card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles counts as proof as residence, if it shows your current address. Or, you can bring documents like a lease, utility bill or bank statement that has your new address.

What do I do if I still have an absentee ballot?

If you still have an absentee ballot, local clerks must receive it by the time polls close, so it's too late to mail it back. Instead, you can physically bring your absentee ballot to your assigned polling place or central count location before the polls close at 8 p.m.

In Milwaukee, you can drop off your absentee ballot at the Central Count Processing Center at 1901 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Curbside drop-off is also available.

What presidential candidates are on the ballot in Wisconsin?

The first thing you'll see on the ballot is a choice whether to vote in the presidential primary for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.

On the Democratic side, the listed candidates are President Joe Biden and Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips, who dropped out earlier in March and endorsed Biden.

Some Democrats plan to vote for the "uninstructed delegation" option as a way to protest Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. A write-in box is also available for any race. The "uninstructed delegation" and write-in options also apply to the Republican side.

On the Republican side, the listed candidates are former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former President Donald Trump.

All except Trump have dropped out. Those names were approved in January, and you can still vote for them on your ballot. Wisconsin's primary is relatively late, so the state doesn't play a major role in narrowing down the field.

There are no third-party candidates or independent candidates — such Jill Stein and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — listed on Wisconsin's primary ballot.

What are the statewide referendum questions on the April 2 ballot?

In addition to voting for a presidential candidate, all voters in the state will be asked two referendum questions:

Question 1: "Use of private funds in election administration. Shall section 7 (1) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum?"

Question 2: "Election officials. Shall section 7 (2) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that only election officials designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums?"

A "yes" vote is supported by Republicans and conservative groups, while Democrats and liberal groups support voting "no." The referendums stem from Republican scrutiny of private grants funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg that helped clerks run elections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More: Wisconsin's April 2 referendum questions and the 'Zuckerbucks' debate, explained

What are the local referendum questions on the ballot?

Some voters will also see referendum questions about funding for public schools or public safety.

Many districts in the Milwaukee area have referendums to improve facilities or help pay operational costs. Milwaukee Public Schools' $252 million referendum over four years is one of the biggest items on the ballot.

If Milwaukeeans vote "yes" on the MPS referendum — raising property taxes to increase funding for MPS — things will mostly look the same. If they vote "no," hundreds of staff positions could be cut, according to the district, which has argued the referendum is necessary just to keep up with rising costs.

More: Should voters support April 2 referendum for MPS? Policy Forum breaks it down.

Several communities will also have public safety referendums, including Cedarburg, Germantown, Grafton, Port Washington and Saukville. They hope to raise taxes to hire more firefighters and paramedics to handle a rising volume of service calls, staffing struggles and cost increases.

More: Several North Shore suburbs will have public safety referendums on the April 2 ballot

What are the local races on the ballot?

Here's a guide to the races in the City of Milwaukee and surrounding suburbs. If you're in a different area, you can check "What's On My Ballot" at myvote.wi.gov.

In Milwaukee, embattled Milwaukee City Attorney Tearman Spencer is facing a re-election challenge from Democratic state Rep. Evan Goyke, one of the most closely watched races.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley both face competitors, but neither of their challengers have previous experience in office or comparable campaign fundraising or public platforms.

In Milwaukee, there are also contested races for comptroller — the city's chief financial officer — and eight Common Council seats. There are also five contested Milwaukee County Board seats.

More: What to know about Milwaukee city offices on the April 2 election ballot

Here's a list of the contested races in the Milwaukee area:

City of Milwaukee races

Milwaukee Mayor

Cavalier Johnson (i)
David King

Milwaukee City Attorney

Tearman Spencer (i)
Evan Goyke

Milwaukee Comptroller

Bill Christianson
Gregory Gracz

Milwaukee Common Council

District 3

Jonathan Brostoff (i)
Ieshuh Griffin

District 4

Robert Bauman (i)
Rayhainio “Ray Nitti” Boynes

District 5

Lamont Westmoreland (i)
Bruce Winter

District 6

Milele Coggs (i)
Brandon Payton

District 7

DiAndre Jackson
Jessica Currie

District 8

JoCasta Zamarripa (i)
Ryan Antczak

District 10

Sharlen Moore
Richard Geldon

District 11

Peter Burgelis
Josh Zepnick

Milwaukee County races

Milwaukee County Executive

David Crowley (i)
Ieshuh Griffin

Milwaukee County Comptroller

Michael Harper
Liz Sumner

Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Branch 43

Marisabel Cabrera
Rochelle Johnson-Bent

Milwaukee County Board

Supervisor 3

Sheldon Wasserman (i)
Alexander Kostal

Supervisor 4

John Eckblad
Ron Jansen

Supervisor 9

Patti Logsdon (i)
Danelle Kenney

Supervisor 14

Caroline Gomez-Tom (i)
Angel Sanchez

Supervisor 18

Deanna Alexander (i)
Brandon Williford

School referendums

Milwaukee Public Schools' referendum is one of the biggest items on the ballot, with the mayor, county executive and state Democratic lawmakers backing it because school funding hasn't kept pace with inflation. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce is among the groups opposing it because of the increase in property taxes.

Milwaukee Public Schools: $252 million operational referendum
Grafton: $11.4 million facilities referendum
Greendale: $12.5 million operational referendum
Hamilton: $7.6 million operational referendum, $25 million facilities referendum
Lake Country: $16.7 million operational referendum, $9.5 million facilities referendum
Mukwonago: $102.3 million facilities referendum
North Lake: $3.4 million operational referendum
Pewaukee: $28.5 million facilities referendum
South Milwaukee: $10 million operational referendum

Milwaukee-area referendum roundup: Voters will decide on millions of dollars in school referendums this spring, including in Milwaukee, Mukwonago, more

School boards

Cudahy School Board (two seats)

Lissa Skogland
Michael Johnson (i)
Randy Hollenbeck
Ellen Price

Cudahy school board race: Learn about the candidates running for two seats on the Cudahy School Board

Elmbrook School Board (two seats)

Area IV

Jean Lambert (i)
Peter Machi

At-large

Mary Wacker
Nicole Hunker

Franklin School Board (three seats)

Maqsood Khan (i)
Angela Bier (i)
Ann Sepersky (i)
Angela Kallay
Jaclyn Gaffney
Jon Peccarelli

Franklin school board race: Franklin School Board candidates talk teacher retention, classroom behavior, ahead of election

Germantown School Board (one seat)

Seat No. 1

Tracy Pawlak (i)
Jeff Voyer

Seat No. 7

Tom Barney (i)
Fred Fleitz

Germantown school board race: School safety, critical race theory among issues for Germantown School Board candidates

Greendale School Board (two seats)

Brian Bock
Elise Ciske
Mary Grogan (i)
Kristin Settle

Greendale school board race: Amid ACLU lawsuit, Greendale school board candidates share plans for DEI, school funding

Hartford J1 School Board (two seats)

Ed Behnke (i)
Ian Bronbeck
Barbara Lindert
Terrence Perfect

Hartford school board race: Meet the Hartford School Board candidates running in the February primary

Hartland-Lakeside School Board (three seats)

Chris Adsit (i)
Ledia Duvnjak
Chris Haglund
Niels Peterson
Matt Schwab

Menomonee Falls School Board (two seats)

Jennifer Grant (i)
Travis Langer
John Witt
Jessica Birkholz

Menomonee Falls school board race: Menomonee Falls school board could be fully backed by Republican Party this spring

Shorewood School Board (one seat)

Ellen Eckman
Andrew Frey

Shorewood school board race: Meet the two Shorewood School Board candidates running April 2

Waukesha School Board (three seats)

Kelly Piacsek (i)
Anthony Zenobia (i)
Stephanie Fidlin
Angelique Byrne
Eric Brooks

More: Democrats spend over $200,000 on Wisconsin school board races, overtaking Republicans

Waukesha school board race: Candidates square off on two sides of political divide in what is supposed to be a nonpartisan race for Waukesha School Board

Municipal races

Big Bend Village Board (three seats)

Traci Lewandowski (i)
Gregory Peterson
Bryan Bindel
Thomas Zembruski
Derek Verburght

Brookfield Common Council

District 5

Amanda Davis
Dean Marquardt

District 7

Eric Fugleberg
David Poglitsch

Brown Deer Village Board (two seats)

Gary Springman
Renee Booker
Jeff Woods

Cedarburg Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of Cedarburg for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 2.390%, which results in a levy of $11,970,886. Shall the City of Cedarburg be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purposes to increase funding to hire and retain additional fire and emergency medical services personnel for the Cedarburg Fire Department, by a total of 10.795%, which results in a levy of $13,263,188, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,292,302 for each fiscal year going forward?

Public safety referendums: Several North Shore suburbs will have public safety referendums on the April 2 ballot

Chenequa Village Board (three seats)

Carol O. Manegold (i)
Ted Rolfs
JoJo Gehl Neumann
Richard Grunke (i)

Cudahy Common Council

District 1

Miranda Levy (i)
Shawn Bumgardner

District 3

Randy Hollenbeck (i)
Rob Haines

Cudahy Common Council race: Incumbent Randy Hollenbeck faces newcomer Rob Haines for Cudahy District 3 seat

Eagle Town Board (two seats)

Judy Rozinski (i)
Barb Day Pinekenstein
Richard Kugel (i)

Fox Point Village Board (two seats)

Mark Freedman
Paul Krechel
David R. Miller
Max Barry

Franklin Judge

Ted Kafkas
Georgia L. Konstantakis
John J. Brennan

Genessee Town Board (two seats)

Tony Reece
Art Schneider
Terry Tesch
Charles Ross (i)

Village of Germantown Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the Village of Germantown for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 2.97%, which results in a levy of $16,212,166. Shall the Village of Germantown be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, and on an ongoing basis, for the purpose of hiring four (4) new police officers and ten (10) new firefighter-paramedics, by a total of 8.941%, which results in a levy of $17,661,634?

Germantown public safety referendum: Germantown voters to decide on referendum that would add 10 firefighters, 4 police officers

Glendale Mayor

Bryan Kennedy (i)
Steve Bruckner

Glendale mayor race: Here's what to know about the candidates running for mayor of Glendale on April 2

More: A Glendale mayoral candidate who wants to crack down on crime addresses his own criminal history

Town of Grafton Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the Town of Grafton for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 1.364%, which results in a levy of $1,559,881. Shall the Town of Grafton be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of enhancing Emergency Medical and Fire Protection Services, including, but not limited to, the hiring and retaining of additional fire and rescue personnel, by a total of 23.876%, which results in a levy of $1,932,316, and, on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $372,435 for each fiscal year going forward?

Village of Grafton Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the Village of Grafton for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 3.558%, which results in a levy of $9,233,828. Shall the Village of Grafton be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of enhancing Emergency Medical and Fire Protection Services including, but not limited to, the hiring and retaining of additional fire and rescue personnel, by a total of 16.007%, which results in a levy of $10,711,900, and, on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,478,072 for each fiscal year going forward?

Greendale Village Board (two seats)

Elaine Unger (i)
Colleen Fechtmeyer (i)
Richard Brockmann

Greenfield Common Council

District 5

Shirley A. Saryan (i)
Safia Jama

Lac La Belle Village Board (two seats)

Craig Niebler
Jeffrey Ritter
Joseph Renner (i)
Richard Allen

Lannon Village Board (three seats)

Don Sommers
Ronald J. Nellis (i)
Tina Moore
Terri Grennier (i)

Menomonee Falls Village President

Jeremy Walz (i)
Brittany Wohlfeil

Menomonee Falls village president race: Meet the two candidates running for village president in Menomonee Falls

Mukwonago Village Board (two seats)

Darlene M. Johnson (i)
David Boebel
Eric Brill (i)

Muskego Common Council

District 3

John Terrence (i)
Dennis Decker

District 5

Philip G. Conrardy
Deb Schroeder (i)

Oak Creek Common Council

District 4

Lisa Marshall (i)
Rosemarie Annonson

Pewaukee Common Council

District 2

Spencer Tabbert
Ian Clark (i)

Port Washington Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of Port Washington for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 1.215%, which results in a levy of $8,203,430. Shall the City of Port Washington be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of hiring and retaining additional fire and emergency medical services personnel for the City of Port Washington Fire Department, by a total of 14.323%, which results in a levy of $9,378,430, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,175,000 for each fiscal year going forward?

Town of Saukville Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the Town of Saukville for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 0.757%, which results in a levy of $459,013. Shall the Town of Saukville be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of enhancing Emergency Medical and Fire Protection Services, including but not limited to, the hiring and retaining of additional fire and rescue personnel, by a total of 44.681%, which results in a levy of $664,103, and, on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $205,090 for each fiscal year going forward?

South Milwaukee Common Council

District 2 (two seats)