Karla Endres has been preparing for Election Day Nov. 8 for some time, training poll workers and making other preparations. 

But critical to the process is voter education, said the Waunakee village clerk. She spoke to the Waunakee Rotary Club Nov. 3 about voting and elections, starting from registration. To be eligible to vote in Wisconsin, you must be 18. Felons and those deemed by the court as incompetent are ineligible. Clerks can check the statewide voters system for a person’s eligibility. 

Those who work at the polls are neighbors, family members, friends, co-workers and village staff. 

They use Badger Books to expedite the process. These electronic poll books are not connected to the internet.

Waunakee voters will cast their ballots at one of two locations created after the 2020 census in the growing village. One is for wards 1-5 at the library and the other for wards 6-12 at the Village Center. 

Voters in Wisconsin will need a government-issued photo ID to vote. Karla said. Myvote.wi.gov is an excellent site to check on the types of identification needed to register and to vote, and to see if you are registered. You can also check out a sample ballot and your voting location at the site. 

Common mistakes are not having the correct photo ID when voting in person. For absentee ballots, one common mistake is omitting the address of the witness. At one time, clerks could fill this information in if they could find it, but that’s prohibited now. 

Karla said about 50 poll workers will be on hand to help on Election Day.

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Other News:

-Volunteers will be working on setting up the Rotary Lights displays at Village Park Saturday at 9 a.m. Help out if you can.

-You can still sign up to be a greeter at the Rotary Lights during the holidays. 

-Peggy Acker-Farber is looking for cookies to serve when Santa visits the Village Center on Dec. 3. Let her know if you can offer some. 

-Members of the DeForest Rotary Club attended the meeting and took orders for poinsettias and cheese for the holiday season. 

Guests: Dave Raemisch, guest of Jim Elvekrog; Sarah Bonk, guest of David Weishoff; Karla Endres, guest of the club; Gabrielle Hamre, guest of Randy Guttenberg.

Visiting Rotarians: Jim Oughton and Colin Robinson, DeForest Area Rotary Club. 

Birthdays: Nov. 10, Troy Salisbury; Nov. 10, Liz Mueller.

Anniversaries: None.

Greeters: Nov. 10, Bob Arntz and Ken Ballweg; Nov. 17, Roberta Baumann and Joe Beck; Nov. 24: Happy Thanksgiving!