The Waukesha City Ordinance and Licensing Committee voted unanimously on Nov. 10 to recommend amendments to Waukesha Municipal Code §1.03 that would reduce the number of polling places and prioritize city-owned locations.

Molly (Clerk's Office) told the committee that the proposal is intended to improve "financial stability and service and excellence," adding that "due to the use of Badger books, we need less poll workers to run our elections" and that moving to mostly city-owned buildings would reduce donation or pay-to-use fees. She also said the clerk's office plans signage at former polling sites on election day and "an abundance of communication through social media, potentially the newsletter, and then mailings as well" to notify voters of changes.

The proposal includes accessibility measures such as curb voting at several sites; one alderperson said the Expo Center will offer curb voting so "they won't even have to exit their vehicle." Committee members pressed the clerk's office on how locations were chosen. Alderson Manion asked whether clerks use a guideline for a "reasonable distance" between voters and their assigned polling place; Molly said she did not have that answer and would follow up with Katie in the clerk's office. Molly later explained that staff prioritized matching sites by district size and voter counts when consolidating locations.

Alderson Steve warned that frequent moves can frustrate voters and risk suppressing turnout, saying, "They get very frustrated, very annoyed when they show up and they find out that their polling place is not the building that they went to... That in itself is disenfranchising the voter if we keep changing it." The committee discussed on-site signage and staff at former locations to reduce confusion.

Alderson Helvinsleben moved to recommend the proposed ordinance changes to the full Common Council; the motion was seconded by Alderson Manion and passed unanimously. The committee did not adopt the ordinance itself; the recommendation will go to the Common Council for consideration.