Milwaukee ballot tabulator issue; 31,000 to be recounted, city says

MILWAUKEE - Roughly 31,000 ballots in Milwaukee will have to be retabulated, the city said on Tuesday afternoon, because of a tabulator issue.

City spokesperson Jeff Fleming said the tabulators were sealed – but the doors to those machines were not fully closed properly. The issue involved early absentee and in-person ballots and affected all 13 tabulators.

Paulina Gutiérrez, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission (MEC), led election workers on how to address the issue moving forward. Outside of reopening the envelopes for those ballots and the legwork that happens before ballots are run through the machines, each ballot will need to be reprocessed. The city said it could take hours to recount the ballots.

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In order to eliminate any doubt to be fully transparent, the MEC decided to start the tabulation process over for all ballots at Central Count. As a result, the MEC final count will be delayed. This decision was made in consultation with both Republican and Democratic officials.

The machines are not connected to the internet, and they are zeroed out, generally, at the start of the day.

Milwaukee firefighters helped with the tabulation process at Central Count.

As of around 12:30 a.m., the city said more than 103,000 absentee ballots have been processed.

FOX6 News heard from Claire Woodall, the commission's former executive director, on Monday. She relayed information about the central count process, including the following:

Start of Day

On Election Day, and prior to the start of Central Count, the following procedure will be completed:

• Tabulator machines are powered on by a member of the Board of Absentee Canvassers (BAC) and confirmed that the ballot processed count in the system is at 0.
• The door that houses the power button is locked and sealed. All other openings have already been sealed.
• The Zero report is printed.
• The Chief Inspector and another member of the BAC will sign the printed Zero report, as well as record the seal numbers and initial on the EL-104.
• The Zero report and the EL-104 are placed together in the black binder located at each machine.

Pre-Processing

Before processing any ballots, the two assigned tabulating staff will complete the following procedure:

• Tabulators confirm that the ballot processed in the system is at 0.
• Tabulators review and sign the Zero report confirming the system is at 0.
• Tabulators confirm that all seals are intact, as well as confirm that the seal numbers match the EL-104. They will then sign the EL-104 on the signature lines.
• The signed Zero Report and EL-104 are placed back in the black binder.

8:53 a.m. update

Gutiérrez fielded questions from the media and provided updates on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

"We're seeing a lot of voter registration. Voter registrations are long. It's great to see that. I just want to remind voters that when you go to register to vote, you have to bring a valid photo ID and a proof of residence," Gutiérrez said.

As of 8:53 a.m. on Tuesday, the City of Milwaukee Election Commission says it has received 106,750 absentee ballots from the 113,311 it issued. Compared to the 169,000 absentee ballots received in 2020, that's a decrease of 36 percent.

"No concerns here. Things are going pretty well at the polling locations. What we're seeing is long lines and a lot of activity, so we ask our voters to be patient. I have a hotline of 15 staff answering any questions or concerns coming to those polling locations," Gutiérrez said.

Election Day: Tuesday, November 5

The polls are open in Wisconsin from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters who are already registered should bring a photo ID. 

If you are not yet registered to vote, you may do so at the polls. All voters must provide a proof of residence document. That includes a valid State of Wisconsin driver's license or state ID card. There are several other acceptable forms of ID that will be accepted at the polls.

Track your ballot

MyVote Wisconsin also makes it convenient for voters to track their ballot. You can see if a ballot request has been received or processed, find out whether your ballot has been sent, and find out whether there was a problem with a ballot.

Reaction and statements

RNC co-chair Lara Trump via X

"Throughout the day we have been monitoring slow ballot counting in Milwaukee. 

"Now, our legal team has learned that the counting took place in unsecured conditions and the city now has to start over, wildly extending the counting timeline.

"This is an unacceptable example of incompetent election administration in a key swing state: voters deserve better and we are unambiguously calling on Milwaukee’s officials to DO THEIR JOBS and count ballots quickly and effectively. Anything less undermines voter confidence.

"We will update the situation when we know more."

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Joe Oslund

"As the Milwaukee Election Commission said, this decision was made in consultation with both Republican and Democratic officials, and the Milwaukee County GOP Chair agreed. We are confident the city will ensure every vote is counted."

RightCount Leadership Advisory Council Member and Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lispki

"Transparency and integrity will be key in navigating any error - the system worked, vigilant election observers noted the issue and our election administrators were immediately responsive and made the right call to re-start. It's important that we get this count right, and I have full faith that poll workers and election administrators in our city are doing just that with the remedy they have already begun implementing. Voters should be reassured that our election workers are taking the time to get it right, rather than rush through the process sloppily."