Election Day is April 7, but voting began two weeks early, with Wauwatosa residents able to begin casting in-person absentee ballots on March 24 at City Hall.
The early voting location is the lower level of the Civic Center, 7725 W. North Ave. Hours vary from now through the last day of early voting on April 3. Full schedule is available on the city's website.
Absentee voters also can vote by mail. On April 7, in-person voting will be available at each ward's designated polling place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. More information on voting locations is available here.
This election is a big one in Wauwatosa, both for the city and the school district.
Voters are electing members to a newly reduced 12-member Common Council, down from 16 seats. All 12 seats are open, though only three districts have contested races. Under the council's new configuration, elected members will serve staggered terms, with those from odd-numbered districts elected to two-year terms and those from even-numbered districts elected to four-year terms.
With the reduction of the council from 16 to 12 members, the pay for each of the new members will increase from $5,400 to $7,200 a year.
David Paulsen
Four of the Wauwatosa School Board's seven seats are up for election this year, and eight candidates are running to serve unpaid, three-year terms. In each of the seats, the board member represents the entire city, not any smaller geographic district.
This spring election will be the first time the four winners will be determined from the whole pool of candidates by ranked vote, as opposed to the previous system in which candidates had to choose to run for specific numbered board seats. This change to a new "open" system of school board elections was backed by voters in a 2025 referendum.
David Paulsen
Tosans also will vote for municipal judge. Incumbent Judge Krista LaFave is running unopposed.
And they will vote for their Milwaukee County supervisor, either in District 5, where newcomer LeeVan Roundtree is running unopposed, or District 6, where incumbent Shawn Rolland also is running unopposed.
At the statewide level, voters will choose a new member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to replace Justice Rebecca Bradley, who is not running for re-election. The candidates in that race are Judge Maria Lazar and Judge Chris Taylor, both Appeals Court judges. Although the seats are nonpartisan, Taylor is seen as the more liberal candidate and Lazar more likely to align with the court's conservatives.
Rounding out the ballot in Wauwatosa will be races for Court of Appeals judge for District 1, as well as Circuit Court judges for Branches 2, 7, 16, 27, 29, and 32.
Tosa Forward News Staff
