What’s On Your Ballot in Madison Today

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – All eyes are on Wisconsin Tuesday for the State Supreme Court race. Locally, voters will elect a County Executive, city Alders, and a school board member. 

The biggest local race is for Dane County Executive. Stephen Ratzlaff is challenging Melissa Agard. She was elected in November to finish out Joe Parisi’s term, and that term is now almost up. Whoever wins will serve for the next four years. 

And all 20 seats on the Madison Common Council are on the ballot. Of all those seats, 14 are contested, and 6 are uncontested. 

This year kicks off a change for the Common Council. Until now, Madisonians voted on all 20 Common Council seats every two years. In 2023, voters approved changing the system to staggered terms. Going forward, 10 seats will be up for election every year.

That means half the alders elected Tuesday will serve for one year, while the other half will serve for two years. Those in even-numbered districts will have another election in 2026, while those in odd-numbered districts will serve for the normal two years. The 2026 spring election will complete this transition. 

Plus, there’s a seat open on the Madison School Board. Bret Wagner is running against Martha Siravo. 

Of course, this is on top of the notable statewide races. Voters are choosing a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice and a State Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction. There is also a referendum on the ballot that would add Wisconsin’s existing voter ID law to the state constitution, which would make it harder to repeal in the future.