Wisconsin’s 2026 spring election is April 7. Here’s what to know.
Politics reporter Hope Karnopp explains what’s on the April 7 ballot in Wisconsin, including a Supreme Court race and local elections.
Today is Election Day in Wisconsin.
On April 7, voters will elect a new state Supreme Court justice, make their choices for local offices and weigh in on several school district referendums.
Here’s everything to know as you head to the polls today:
What does Wisconsin vote for today?
There is only one statewide race, meaning everyone will see it at the top of their ballot. That’s for Wisconsin Supreme Court. Both candidates are current judges on the state Court of Appeals.
Chris Taylor, a former Democratic state lawmaker and former policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, is the liberal candidate in the race. Maria Lazar, a former assistant attorney general during Gov. Scott Walker’s administration, is the conservative candidate.
The rest of the ballot depends on where you live, but might include local offices like mayor, city council, school board and more. Some school districts have funding referendums on the ballot.
You can preview the races and candidates on your ballot at myvote.wi.gov.
There’s a list of contested races in the Milwaukee area at the bottom of this story.
How do I find my polling place in Wisconsin?
You can find your assigned polling place by entering your address at myvote.wi.gov, too.
When are polls open in Wisconsin today?
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. across the state. As long as you’re in line by 8 p.m., you’ll be allowed to vote.
What do I need to bring to vote in Wisconsin?
Make sure you bring a valid photo ID. Those include:
- Wisconsin driver’s license
- State ID card issued by the DMV
- Military or veteran’s ID card
- Tribal ID card
- U.S. passport
- Certificate of naturalization
- College ID card, if it includes the date it was issued, student’s signature and expires no later than two years after it was issued. Some universities issue separate ID cards that fit the requirements.
You may have heard about the SAVE Act, a bill pending in Congress that would require proof of citizenship to vote. That legislation hasn’t become law, so Wisconsin voters don’t need to bring a separate document that indicates their citizenship status.
Does Wisconsin have same-day voter registration?
You’ll be able to register or update your registration at your polling place. If you’d moved or changed your name since the last election, you’ll need to re-register.
If you need to register, make sure to bring a proof of residence document that shows your current address, like a copy of your lease, a utility bill or bank statement. You can show an electronic copy on your phone. A full list of accepted documents is available on the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s website.
If you’re registering to vote from a new address, you must have lived there for at least 28 days by April 7. If you haven’t reached 28 days at your new address, you’ll need to vote at the polling place assigned to your previous address.
What do I do if I still have an absentee ballot?
If you still have a mail-in absentee ballot for the election, it’s too late to put it in the mail. Your clerk must have your ballot by 8 p.m. to count it.
Check your local clerk’s website or give them a call for specific instructions on returning your absentee ballot. They may tell you to bring your ballot to your assigned polling place or a central count location.
Some communities have absentee ballot drop boxes, but make sure to follow directions posted on the box, as they may close before 8 p.m. The City of Milwaukee’s drop boxes are open until 6 p.m. on April 7.
When will we know the results of the April 7 election?
It’s hard to know exactly when results will be called. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will be posting results as they come in.
The two most recent Supreme Court races, both of which elected liberal justices by double-digit margins, were called less than an hour after polls closed.
Local races and referendums, often decided by slim margins, could take longer to call.
When are Wisconsin’s next elections?
Wisconsin has two more 2026 elections after April 7:
- Aug. 11: The partisan primary to narrow down candidates for offices like governor, U.S. Congress and more. This is when voters will select from large primary fields for governor.
- Nov. 3: The general election, when voters make their final choices for partisan offices. This is also called the “midterms.”
A full list of election dates and important voting deadlines can be found on the WEC’s website.
Milwaukee-area contested races
Here’s a list of the contested local races in the Milwaukee area. Incumbents are noted with (i):
Milwaukee County
MILWAUKEE COUNTY BOARD
- District 7: Felisia Martin (i), Stacy Smiter
- District 9: Patti Logsdon (i), Maquood Khan
- District 11: Kathleen Vincent (i), Ryan Antczak
BAYSIDE VILLAGE BOARD (two seats)
- Bob Rudman (i), Kelly Marrazza (i), Martin J. Perry
CUDAHY SCHOOL BOARD (two seats)
- Katy Castleton, Chris Galewski (i), Randy Hollenbeck, Rhonda Riccio (i)
FOX POINT VILLAGE PRESIDENT
- Christine Symchych (i), Jennie Stoltz
FRANKLIN MAYOR
- John Nelson (i), Basil Ryan
FRANKLIN COMMON COUNCIL
- District 6: Jason Craig (i), Danelle J. Kenney
FRANKLIN SCHOOL BOARD (two seats)
- Kathryn J. Eckhardt, Denise Groniger, Mary Yank (i)
GLENDALE COMMON COUNCIL
- District 4: Richard Wiese, Andrew L. Franklin
GLENDALE-RIVER HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENDUM
- Shall the Glendale-River Hills School District, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $5,000,000 per year for four years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and ending with the 2029-2030 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of operational expenses to maintain district programs?
GREENDALE SCHOOL BOARD
- Mary Laurel Grogan, Kathleen Wied-Vincent (i)
NICOLET SCHOOL BOARD (two seats)
- Laura Felix, Anthony Pennington-Cross (i), Theresa Seem (i)
OAK CREEK-FRANKLIN SCHOOL BOARD (two seats)
- Sheryl Cerniglia (i), Genene Hibbler, Jen Knor, Mark Verhalen (i)
ST. FRANCIS COMMON COUNCIL
- District 3: Matt Damon (i), Scott Taddey
SHOREWOOD VILLAGE BOARD (two seats)
- Kathy Stokebrand (i), Arthur Ircink (i), Mitchell Auping
SOUTH MILWAUKEE LIBRARY REFERENDUM
- Shall the City of South Milwaukee be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2027, for the purpose of funding operations of the South Milwaukee Public Library, by a total of 3.415%, which results in a levy of $12,871,757, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $425,000 for each fiscal year going forward?
SOUTH MILWAUKEE SCHOOL BOARD (three seats)
- Tory Elliot, Melissa Ellis, Brian Genduso (i), Patrick Hintz (i), John Nuck, Terrence Talley
WAUWATOSA COMMON COUNCIL
Wauwatosa residents will vote for 12 alderpersons to represent 12 new districts, a change from the 16 alderpersons that represented eight districts. On the ballot are four contested races, and some incumbents are running to represent a new district.
- District 3: Ernst Franzen (i), Mark Peters
- District 4: Amanda Saso, Sean Hurley
- District 8: Michael Indy Stluka, Matthew Wicker
- District 11: Michael Morgan (i), Melissa Dolan (i)
WAUWATOSA SCHOOL DISTRICT (four seats)
- Heather Birk, Liz Heimerl-Rolland, Todd Koehler, Melissa Lamers, Christopher Merker, Dan Stemper, Jason Wautier (i), Lynn Woehrle (i)
WEST ALLIS-WEST MILWAUKEE SCHOOL BOARD (three seats)
- Jeremiah Houle, Brian Keller (i), Noah Leigh (i), Sagar Tolani
WHITEFISH BAY SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENDUM
- Shall the School District of Whitefish Bay, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $135,600,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a district-wide school building and facility improvement project consisting of: safety, security, building infrastructure and capital maintenance improvements at Whitefish Bay High School, Cumberland and Richards Elementary Schools, and Lydell School and Community Center; construction of and site improvements for a new middle school to replace the existing middle school; acquisition of land; demolition of the existing middle school and repurposing the site for district and community use; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures and equipment?
WHITNALL SCHOOL BOARD (three seats)
- Don Geiger, Joseph D. Hurkman, Cassie Rainer (i), Rachel Scherrer (i), Jesse Stachowiak
Ozaukee County
OZAUKEE COUNTY BOARD
- District 10: Daniel E. Vogel (i), Mark Harris
- District 11: Dionne Holloway, Kevin Kennedy
- District 16: Connie Kincaide (i), Amy Elleson-Baster
- District 19: Jennifer Mackinnon, Dan Eastman
- District 21: Justin V. Strom (i), Tom Stark
- District 24: Jeffrey Hansher (i), James J. Krane
CEDARBURG COMMON COUNCIL
- District 7: Mark Mueller (i), Evan Burks
CEDARBURG SCHOOL BOARD (two seats)
- Connie Kincaide (i), Brady Brown, Jake Hebda
GRAFTON VILLAGE BOARD (three seats)
- Andrew Schwartz (i), Russell MacRae, Danielle Autotte, Luke Spykstra
PORT WASHINGTON COMMON COUNCIL
- District 4: Daniel Benning (i), Dakota Brace
PORT WASHINGTON-SAUKVILLE SCHOOL BOARD
- City of Port Washington Seat: Kiersten Cira (i), Matt Riemer
PORT WASHINGTON TIF REFERENDUM
- Shall the City of Port Washington adopt the proposed ordinance, which, if adopted, would bar the City from creating or approving a Tax Incremental District that requires a large capital expenditure, or with a base value projected to or exceeding $10,000,000.00, or project costs exceeding $10,000,000.00, unless the creation or approval of such a Tax Incremental District has been approved by the majority of electors in a general or special election?
Washington County
GERMANTOWN SCHOOL BOARD
- Seat No. 3: Kimberly Higgenbotham (i), Anne Utech
- Seat No. 5: Molly Bussie, Richard Yu
GERMANTOWN VILLAGE BOARD
- District 1: David Baum (i), Scott Hefle
- District 2: Jim Stout, Alisha Mir-Marwood
- District 3: Jolene Pieper (i), Dennis Myers
WEST BEND COMMON COUNCIL
- District 1: Travis Prindl, Neil T. Fulton
- District 7: Bill Schmidt, Justice Madl
Waukesha County
WAUKESHA COUNTY BOARD
- District 21: Joel Gaughan (i), Joseph O’Brien
- District 24: Deb Schroeder (i), Bruce Kurtz
ARROWHEAD SCHOOL BOARD, AT-LARGE SEAT
- Chris Farris (i), John Marek
BROOKFIELD MAYOR
- Steven V. Ponto (i), Mike Hallquist
BROOKFIELD COMMON COUNCIL
- District 1: Steve Dasher, Peter Stoll
- District 3: Jason G. Anderson (i), Morgan Austgen
- District 4: Chuck Bloom (i), Jake Gregory
- District 6: Catherine Kahler, Jeffrey Mellone
CHENEQUA VILLAGE BOARD (three seats)
- JoJo Gehl Neumann (i), Richard Grunke (i), Carol O. Manegold (i), Bob Fiedler, Ted Rolfs
DELAFIELD MAYOR
- Tim Aicher (i), Aaron Werner
EAGLE TOWN BOARD (two seats)
- Richard Kugel (i), Wendy Konichek, Faith Lang
ELMBROOK SCHOOL BOARD
- At-large seat: Sam Hughes (i), Elizabeth Theis
- Area I seat: Kevin Klandrud, Scott Wheeler (i)
- Area III seat: Robert Burlage, Jennifer Roskopf
GENESEE TOWN BOARD (two seats)
- Charlie Gresser (i), Adam E. Coker, Tony Reece, Daniel Yatzeck
HAMILTON SCHOOL BOARD
- At-large seat: Cassie Hoehnen, Tom Seiler
- Village of Sussex seat: Adam Gegare, Ashlie Schaffner (i)
HARTLAND-LAKESIDE SCHOOL BOARD
- Kristopher “Kpher” Evans, Morgan Henning (i)
KETTLE MORAINE SCHOOL BOARD (two seats)
- Jay Crouse (i), Katie Grillaert, Amy Richards (i)
LAC LA BELLE VILLAGE BOARD (two seats)
- John Koepke (i), Erik Mullett (i), Jack Gutschenritter, Jeff Ritter
LAKE COUNTRY SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENDUM
- Shall the Lake Country School District, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $800,000 per year for four years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and ending with the 2029-2030 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of operational expenses?
MENOMONEE FALLS SCHOOL BOARD (three seats)
- Nicole Barker, Jefferson E. Davis, Rebecca Derlein, Emily Kant Schlimme, Steve Taylor, Joel Woppert (i)
MERTON TOWN BOARD, SUPERVISOR 4
- James Olson (i), Jan Grimm
MUSKEGO MAYOR
- Rick Petfalski (i), Kathy Chiaverotti
MUSKEGO COMMON COUNCIL
- District 3: Dennis Decker (i), Doug Bellows
MUSKEGO-NORWAY SCHOOL BOARD (two seats)
- Robert Bohmann (i), Pattie Morales, Jason Szemborski (i)
NEW BERLIN COMMON COUNCIL
- District 2: Scott La Fever (i), Meg Gardner
NEW BERLIN SCHOOL BOARD (two seats)
- Matthew J. Arend, Joseph Greenhagen, Amanda Peterson, Bob Willkomm
OCONOMOWOC MAYOR
- Matt Rosek, Karen Spiegelberg
OCONOMOWOC COMMON COUNCIL
- District 1: Nick Noggle, April Welch
- District 3: Zachary Frankowski, Brian Rau
SUMMIT VILLAGE BOARD (two seats)
- Jeff Lee (i), Hethe Henrickson, Tina Kummrow, Lisa Mellone
SWALLOW SCHOOL BOARD
- Katie Bergmann, Colin Chance
VERNON VILLAGE BOARD, TRUSTEE 1
- Jay M. Pecha (i), Tina Doggett
WALES VILLAGE BOARD (two seats)
- Alan Barrows (i), Alan Theis (i), Kimberly Suhr
WAUKESHA MAYOR
- Scott Allen, Alicia Halvensleben
WAUKESHA COMMON COUNCIL
- District 2: Eric Payne (i), Jim Evert
- District 6: Jack Wells (i), Richard E. Stueckroth
- District 13: Eileen Micklitz, Scott Oakley
WAUKESHA SCHOOL BOARD (three seats)
- Chase Allen, Maria Carrillo, Mitchel Gallagher, Bette Koenig (i), Melissa Toledo, Diane Voit (i)
Hope Karnopp can be reached at [email protected].
