MILWAUKEE — A technical error at Milwaukee’s Central Count Headquarters will require an estimated 30,000 absentee ballots to be re-counted, spokesperson Jeff Fleming of the Milwaukee Mayor’s Office confirmed.
Election workers have been tabulating results at the Baird Center since the morning of Election Day, but at some point in the process, it was discovered that the doors to 13 different machines were not properly sealed.
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Out of an abundance of caution, those estimated 30,000 absentee ballots affected out of approx. 106,000 in total will be recounted. It’s expected that this issue will set back Milwaukee’s timeline to complete ballot tabulation by several hours.
The following statement was issued by the Milwaukee Election Commission:
This afternoon, Milwaukee Election Commission (MEC) leadership was alerted to an issue with the tabulator doors being fully in place. Each machine has a door that should have been locked and sealed. It appears some doors were not fully secured by senior election officials. The City of Milwaukee has no doubt regarding the integrity of the election. However, in order to eliminate any doubt to be fully transparent, the MEC has decided to start the tabulation process over for all ballots at Central Count. This decision was made in consultation with both Republican and Democratic officials. Approximately 31,000 ballots will be re-tabulated. As a result, the final count will be delayed. There is no estimate as to how long of a delay there will be. There is no higher priority than the accuracy of Milwaukee’s election results.”
This statement was also issued by RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump in response to the issue:
“Throughout the day we have been monitoring slow ballot counting in Milwaukee. Now, our legal team has learned that the counting took place in insecure 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.”
This is a developing situation. An update and/or follow-up may be issued if further details are revealed.
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