NOTICE OF REFERENDUM OCONTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

APRIL 7, 2026

Referendum Election Details

At an election to be held in the Oconto Unified School District on April 7, 2026, the following proposed Revenue Limit Resolution of the School Board will be submitted to a vote of the people:

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET TO EXCEED REVENUE LIMIT BY $1,200,000 PER YEAR FOR FIVE YEARS

FOR NON-RECURRING PURPOSES

BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the Oconto Unified School District, Oconto County, Wisconsin that the revenues included in the School District budget be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $1,200,000 per year for five years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and ending with the 2030-2031 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of District operation and maintenance costs.

Ballot Text

The question will appear on the ballot as follows:

“Shall the Oconto Unified School District, Oconto County, Wisconsin, be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $1,200,000 per year for five years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and ending with the 2030-2031 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of District operation and maintenance costs?”

Explanation

The referendum election ballot will ask District electors to vote “yes” or “no” on the referendum election question as set forth above.

A “yes” vote on the question is a vote to authorize the Oconto Unified School District budget to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $1,200,000 per year for five years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and ending with the 2030-2031 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of District operation and maintenance costs.

A “no” vote on the question is a vote to deny the Oconto Unified School District the authority to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $1,200,000 per year

for five years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and ending with the 2030-2031 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of District operation and maintenance costs.

In the event a majority of the electors voting on the question vote “yes”, the District will be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by

$1,200,000 per year for five years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and ending with the 2030-2031 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of District operation and maintenance costs; if a majority vote “no” on the question set forth above, the District will not be so authorized.

Done in the Oconto Unified School District

on April 1, 2026 Samantha Routheau

District Clerk

VOTING BY ABSENTEE BALLOT

Any qualified elector who is unable or unwilling to appear at the polling place on Election Day may submit a request to vote an absentee ballot to their municipal clerk.  A qualified elector is any U.S. citizen who:

• will be 18 years of age or older on Election Day.
• has resided in the ward or municipality where they wish to vote for at least 28 consecutive days before the election. 

The elector must also be registered to vote to receive an absentee ballot.  Proof of identification must be provided before an absentee ballot may be issued*. 

Making application to receive an absentee ballot by mail

Contact your municipal clerk and request that an application for an absentee ballot be sent to you for the primary or election or both.  You may make written application to your municipal clerk for an absentee ballot by mail, by fax, by email or at MyVote.wi.gov.  Or you may apply in person at the clerk’s office during the In-Person Absentee Voting period listed below.

Your written request must include:

1. your voting address within the municipality where you wish to vote
2. the address where the absentee ballot should be sent, if different from the address above
3. your signature 
4. a copy of your photo identification*

The deadline for making application to receive an absentee ballot by mail is:

5:00 p.m. on the fifth day before the election, Thursday, April 2, 2026**.

*Voters who are indefinitely confined due to age, illness, infirmity, or disability may not be required to provide photo ID. If this applies to you, contact the municipal clerk regarding deadlines for requesting and submitting an absentee ballot.

**Special absentee voting application provisions apply to electors who are indefinitely confined, in the military, hospitalized, or serving as a sequestered juror.  If this applies to you, contact the municipal clerk regarding deadlines for requesting and submitting an absentee ballot.

Voting an absentee ballot in person

You may also request and vote an absentee ballot in the clerk’s office or other specified location during the days and hours specified for casting an absentee ballot in person. ***Absentee voting is by appointment; unless noted. 

City of Oconto  Brittney Burruel           (920) 834-7711          

1210 Main Street, Oconto, WI 54153

***City of Oconto Office Hours:  Mon.– Fri. 7:30 a.m.– 4 p.m.  No appointment necessary

The first day to vote an absentee ballot in the clerk’s office is:  Tuesday, March 24, 2026***

The last day to vote an absentee ballot in the clerk’s office is:  Friday, April 3, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.*   

No in-person absentee voting may occur on the day before the election. The municipal clerk will deliver voted ballots returned on or before Election Day to the proper polling place or counting location before the polls close on Tuesday,

April 7, 2026.  Any ballots received after the polls close will not be counted.

Notice of Location and Hours of Polling Place

At the election to be held on April 7, 2026, in the County of Oconto, the following polling place locations will be used for the wards indicated below.  If you have questions concerning your polling place, contact the municipal clerk. 

City of Oconto W1-7   Brittney Burruel (920) 834-7711    1210 Main Street, Oconto, WI 54153

   All polling places will open at 7:00 A.M. and will close at 8:00 P.M.

All polling places are accessible to elderly and voters with disabilities.

Notice of Meeting of the Local Board of Canvassers

At the close of voting on Election Day, pursuant to the provisions of Wis. Stat. § 19.84, the Election Inspectors at each polling place will convene as the Local Canvassing Board for the purpose of conducting the local canvass pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 7.51.  This meeting will be open to the public pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§ 19.81-89.

Notice of Meeting of the Local and Municipal Board of Canvassers (MBOC)

At the close of voting on Election Day, pursuant to the provisions of Wis. Stat. § 19.84, the Election Inspectors will convene as a joint meeting of the Local Board of Canvassers and the MBOC for the purpose of conducting the local and municipal canvasses pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§7.51 and 7.53(1). This meeting will be open to the public pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§ 19.81-89.

Notice of Meeting of MBOC to Process Rehabilitated Provisional Ballots

If provisional ballots have been issued and are subsequently cured by the voter before 4:00 p.m. on the Friday after the election, the MBOC must meet no later than the following Monday at 9:00 a.m. to process the cured provisional ballots.  This is a public meeting and requires applicable notice.

Notice of Spring Election and Sample Ballots

April 7, 2026

Office of the Oconto Clerk

To the voters of Oconto County:

Notice is hereby given of a spring election to be held in Oconto County on April 7, 2026, at which the officers named below shall be chosen.  The names of the candidates for each office, whose nominations have been certified to or filed in this office, are given under the title of the office, each in its proper column, together with the questions submitted to a vote, for a referendum, if any, in the sample ballot below.

Information to Voters

Upon entering the polling place and before being permitted to vote, a voter shall:

• state their name and address
• show an acceptable form of photo identification*
• sign the poll book**

*If a voter does not have acceptable photo identification, the voter may obtain a free photo ID for voting from the Division of Motor Vehicles. 

**If the voter is unable to sign the poll book due to disability, a poll worker may write the word “exempt.”

If a voter is not registered to vote, they may register to vote at the polling place serving their residence if the voter provides proof of residence.

Where ballots are distributed to voters, the initials of two inspectors must appear on the ballot. 

Upon being permitted to vote, the voter shall enter a voting booth or go to a machine and cast their ballot. The vote should not be cast in any manner other than specified here.  Sample ballots or other materials to assist the voter in marking their ballot may be taken into the booth and copied.  The sample ballot shall not be shown to anyone so as to reveal how the ballot is marked.

A voter who is a parent or guardian may be accompanied by the voter’s minor child or minor ward. 

An election official may inform the voter of the proper manner for casting a vote but the official may not advise or indicate a particular voting choice.

Assistance for Voting

A voter may select an individual to assist in casting their vote if the voter declares to the presiding official that they are unable to read, have difficulty reading, writing, or understanding English, or that due to disability are unable to cast their ballot.  The selected individual rendering assistance may not be the voter’s employer or an agent of that employer or an officer or agent of a labor organization which represents the voter.

Where Paper Ballots are Used

The voter shall make a mark (X) in the square next to the name of the candidate of their choice for each office for which they intend to vote.  To vote for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot, the voter shall write in the name of the person of their choice in the space provided for a write-in vote.  On referendum questions, the voter shall make a mark (X) in the square next to “yes” if in favor of the question, or the voter shall make a mark (X) in the square next to “no” if opposed to the question.

Where Optical Scan Voting is Used

The voter shall fill in the oval next to the name of the candidate of their choice for each office for which they intend to vote.  To vote for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot, the voter shall write in the name of the person of their choice in the space provided for a write-in vote and fill in the oval next to the write-in line.  On referendum questions, the voter shall fill in the oval next to “yes” if in favor of the question, or the voter shall fill in the oval next to “no” if opposed to the question.

When using an electronic ballot marking device (“Automark,” “ExpressVote,” Clear Access or “ImageCast Evolution-ICE”) to mark an optical scan ballot, the voter shall touch the screen or use the tactile pad to select the name of the candidate of his or her choice for each office for which he or she intends to vote.  To vote for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot, the voter shall type in the name of the person of his or her choice in the space provided for a write-in vote.  On referendum questions, the voter shall touch the screen or use the tactile pad to select “yes” if in favor of the question, or the voter shall touch the screen or use the tactile pad to select “no” if opposed to the question.

After Voting the Ballot

After an official paper ballot is marked, it shall be folded so the inside marks do not show, but so the printed endorsements and inspectors’ initials on the outside do show.  The voter shall deposit the voted ballot in the ballot box or deliver the ballot to an inspector for deposit and shall leave the polling place promptly.

After an official optical scan ballot is marked, it shall be inserted in the security sleeve, so the marks do not show.  The voter may insert the ballot in the voting device and discard the sleeve or deliver the ballot to an inspector for deposit.  If a central count system is used, the voter shall insert the ballot in the ballot box and discard the sleeve or deliver the ballot to an inspector for deposit.  The voter shall leave the polling place promptly.

Spoiling Ballots

If a voter spoils a paper or optical scan ballot, they shall return it to an election official who shall issue another ballot in its place, but not more than three ballots shall be issued to any one voter.  If the ballot has not been initialed by two inspectors or is defective in any other way, the voter shall return it to the election official who shall issue a proper ballot in its place. 

A sample of the official ballot was published in accordance with state statute.  Each polling location will have samples of official ballots specific to that location posted.  Please visit https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/ for more information.

Done in the City of Oconto on February 25, 2026

Kim Pytleski, Oconto County Clerk

301 Washington Street Oconto, Wisconsin 54153

920-834-6800