Most voters today are visiting buildings like libraries, schools and churches, but Milwaukee voters in wards 176 and 177 are headed to the polls at the Charles Allis Art Museum.
That’s where Eric Hinshaw showed up on Monday night. He was walking his dog when he spotted a sign to vote at the museum. After realizing he was there a day early, Hinshaw says he’s looking forward to voting at the "beautiful building" on Election Day.
"It's wonderful," Hinshaw says of the museum. "It's nice you can just walk by. Hopefully a lot of people come up tomorrow."
Inside the museum’s great hall, executive director Jaymee Harvey Willms and Election Inspector Shannon Romero set up tables and election equipment. Romero says unfortunately, some artwork on the walls will be blocked by the polling booths. There will be 10 booths to accommodate for high voter turnout. But she says there will be plenty of art for voters to see throughout the museum.
"This place on Election Day, when they grant us the ability to be here, they also offer free admission, which is definitely different," Romero says.
The Charles Allis Art Museum displays the historical and cultural art collection of the Allis family, whose home was built in 1911.
Museum Director Willms says because the museum is typically closed on Monday and Tuesday, staff are preparing unseen parts of the museum for voters to experience.
"We're cleaning out a new bathroom that no one's ever seen right now on our second floor," Willms says. "We were moving a bunch of stuff around and permanent collection pieces today and one of my staff was like 'what if we just shut the doors' and I'm just like, no, tomorrow, everybody votes, and then they look at the artwork!"
Willms says sometimes it feels like civic engagement isn’t rewarded.
"But here at the Allis, we would like to make that an exciting thing, maybe an educational thing. You get to walk these halls and see what the quote unquote golden age of Milwaukee looks like."
Voters in Kenosha can also learn about the area’s history when they vote at the Kenosha Public Museum and Civil War Museum.
Marquis Griffen is the accountant for Kenosha’s museums. Voters in wards 19 and 20 through 25 can cast their ballots there.
"The building is actually shaped as a glacier," says Griffen. "That is to denote what the landscape for Kenosha was at that time. When people come in to determine the future of elections and the communities, they can also learn about the community that they live in."
At the Civil War Museum, people can vote in Freedom Hall and then experience exhibits like the Veterans Memorial Gallery, where a dimly lit room displays artifacts from the Revolutionary War to World War II and beyond. Stars decorate the room's ceiling.
"It's more the reverence of when you walk into this room, the stars just represent the sacrifice that the soldiers made," Griffen says. And the the impact that no, this room is not well lit, because it's not supposed to be because when you walk in here, you're supposed to be in awe of the men and women who gave their lives and sacrifice for this country."
"I think that the fact that the museums are a polling place, they add to the testament that the community holds museums at high regard," adds Griffen.
Back in Milwaukee, voters in wards 201 and 209 can visit the animals at the Wisconsin Humane Society. Angela Speed is the vice president of communications there. She says the Humane Society has served as a polling place since at its current location since 2005.
"This building was created to make adoptions fast, easy, fun, be welcoming to the public, be a place to hold community events, open doors, and really to be established as a part of this could local community," says Speed. "Being a polling location is part of that."
"People might see an animal and fall in love and might come back the next day to adopt," Speed adds. "It's a really wonderful thing, not just for the community, but for the animals in our care to get that extra exposure."
The polls are located inside the classroom where the Humane Society hosts activities like children's programming, training sessions, meetings and dog training.
"I wouldn't be surprised to find that our staff are more active voters, because they do see the stream of people being so engaged in the process and in politics."
For more information about how to vote on Election Day visit WUWM’s voter guide.
