KENOSHA, Wis. — Kenosha County Clerk Regi Waligora is warning voters and write-in candidates not to use stickers on election ballots, saying the practice is not authorized under Wisconsin law and could disrupt ballot-counting equipment on Election Day.
In a news release issued Friday, Waligora said Wisconsin law does not explicitly allow voters to place stickers on ballots. While state statutes contain a narrow exception allowing election officials to place stickers on ballots if a candidate dies after ballots have already been printed, that exception does not apply to write-in campaigns or candidates encouraging supporters to use pre-printed labels.
The county clerk cited guidance from the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s Election Law and Administration in Wisconsin Manual, published in June 2026, which states that state law neither expressly permits nor prohibits voters from placing stickers on ballots. However, the commission strongly discourages the practice because stickers can cause automatic ballot tabulators to jam or stop functioning.
Waligora said Kenosha County’s election equipment vendor has also cautioned against stickers or labels, warning that even a slight increase in the thickness of a ballot can result in paper jams, misreads, or complete tabulator failures.
“If a sticker detaches inside the equipment, municipalities may be forced to halt machine tabulation and transition to hand counting for the remainder of Election Day,” Waligora said in the release. She added that such a scenario could significantly delay election results and place additional burdens on election workers.
Although voters are not expressly prohibited from affixing stickers to their ballots, Waligora noted that neither Wisconsin statutes nor administrative guidance authorize the practice. She urged candidates not to distribute or encourage the use of ballot stickers and advised voters to write in candidates’ names by hand to ensure accurate tabulation and avoid equipment problems.
The County Clerk’s Office encouraged voters and candidates with questions about ballot procedures to contact their municipal clerk or the Kenosha County Clerk’s Office for guidance.
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