On Tuesday, February 15, Milwaukee will take one step closer to electing a new mayor when the city votes in the 2022 Spring Primary. Don’t want to wait until the 15th to vote? Good news: you can vote early, from February 1 through February 11 (February 12 if you’re already registered to vote at your current address).

First, make sure you’re registered to vote. You can register in-person at your voting location, too.

Here’s where you can vote early:

Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building (841 N. Broadway, Room 102)
Tuesday, February 1 – Friday, February 11
Weekdays, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
No weekends

Midtown Center (5700 W. Capitol Dr.)
Tuesday, February 1 – Saturday, February 12
Weekdays, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Zablocki Library (3501 W. Oklahoma Ave.)
Tuesday, February 1 – Saturday, February 12
Mondays and Tuesdays, noon – 7 p.m.
Wednesday and Thursdays, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Want to vote absentee? Incredibly, you’re allowed to! You have until Thursday, February 10 to request an absentee ballot. Drop your completed ballot in the mail or in one of these drop boxes located throughout the city. Drop boxes are open through 5 p.m. on February 15. They’re legal!

So who’s on the ballot? Seven candidates are vying to fill the remaining two years of Tom Barrett’s mayoral term. (Barrett resigned early to become the U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, as one does.) The mayoral race is nonpartisan, so the top two vote-getters will square off in the general election on Tuesday, April 5. Milwaukee County voters in districts 1, 3, and 12 will also find a primary race for County Board of Supervisors.

Here are the candidates, arranged in alphabetical order. VOTE!

MILWAUKEE MAYOR (2 YEAR TERM)

Marina Dimitrijevic

• Current Bay View alderwoman, former County Supervisor
• Current chair of the Public Safety & Health Committee, advocated for the return of a citywide mask mandate
• FUN FACT: She totally shot her campaign pictures in Black Cat Alley

Bob Donovan

• Longtime south side alderman who did not run for reelection in 2020
• Ran for mayor against Barrett in 2016, lost 70% to 30%
• FUN FACT: Held a “Burn The Masks” party in June 2021 with ex-sheriff David Clarke

Ieshuh Griffin

• Independent candidate running a self-described “Poor People’s Piece of the Pie” campaign
• Attempted to run under the slogan “NOT the White Man’s bitch” in a previous campaign
• FUN FACT: Even though the news said she didn’t make it to a recent mayoral firkin tapping, she did, in fact, make it

Cavalier Johnson

• Current Acting Mayor of Milwaukee
• Was (and still is) president of the Milwaukee Common Council
• FUN FACT: He’s a Batman fan!

Earnell Lucas

• Current Milwaukee County Sheriff, elected in 2018
• Served 25 years in the Milwaukee Police Department
• FUN FACT: Anyone in Lucas’ current position is better than David Clarke

Michael Sampson

• First-time political candidate
• Founded SWARMM Events, which runs Milwaukee Oktoberfest, 12 Bars of Christmas, and Shamrock Shuffle
• FUN FACT: Sampson recently sold the rights to four other SWARMM events—Donut & Coffee Fest, Milwaukee Taco Fest, Milwaukee Wing Fest, Milwaukee BBQ Fest—to OnMilwaukee.

Lena Taylor

• Currently serving a fifth term as a Wisconsin State Senator
• Ran for mayor against Barrett in 2020, lost 63% to 37%
• FUN FACT: That whole bank teller thing from 2018