MADISON, Wis. (Civic Media) – The first major date for the 2024 elections on the calendar is Friday, Dec. 1.

It’s the first day that candidates for offices that will be voted on in the Spring Election can begin circulating nomination papers and collecting signatures.

Nearly every form of local office is on the ballot on April 2, including municipal and county positions as well as school boards and circuit court judges. Anyone interested in running for these offices must file nomination paperwork by the first Tuesday in January (for 2024, the deadline is Jan. 2). A list of required documents is available on the Wisconsin Elections Commission website.

Anyone who misses the deadline, but still wishes to run for a local office, can register as a write-in up until noon the Friday before the Spring Election.

December 1st is also the deadline for municipal clerks, some of whom will appear on spring ballots, to certify the number of electors to county clerks. State statute mandates that the number of approximate certified electors in any municipality is given to county clerks on the first day of the second month preceding a primary. Wisconsin will have a primary on Feb. 20. According to the state, there are over 1,800 municipal clerks in Wisconsin.

Friday’s also the deadline for village electors to petition for a primary. It’s also the first day that a town or village can set a date for a caucus, which they can do between Dec. 1 and Jan. 21.

Two more deadlines are rapidly approaching for municipalities, counties, or schools considering referendum questions. These questions must be sent to election officials by Dec. 12, or 70 days prior to the Feb. 20 primary, in order to appear on the ballot. The county (or counties, in the case of school boards) must receive the question by Dec. 13.

With four election dates in 2024 in Wisconsin, there are four opportunities for a 2024 referendum; the Dec. 12 and 13 deadlines are only to appear on the Feb. 20 ballot.

Another key December date is the 22nd, when incumbents of public office who aren’t seeking re-election must file a Notification of Noncandidacy. If one isn’t filed, the deadline to file to run for that office will extend by three days. Clerks are required to publish a public notice of all Notifications of Noncandidacy on this date as well.

There are four voting dates in Wisconsin in 2024:

• February 20: 2024 Spring Primary
• April 2: 2024 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Election
• August 13: 2024 Partisan Primary
• November 5: 2024 General Election

You can see your voter registration information, status, or where you can register to vote, see sample ballots, and see who your current elected officials, and the length of their terms, on MyVote Wisconsin’s website.

For more information about Wisconsin elections, you can visit the Wisconsin Elections Commission website.