MADISON, Wis. - More than 97,000 people in Wisconsin cast absentee ballots in person on the first day they could, leading to long waits at some polling sites that were made worse by an overwhelmed computer system that clerks use to process ballots.
Republicans and Democrats have been pushing voters to cast ballots early, leading to the surge and reports of people waiting in line for hours at clerks' offices and other polling places around the state Tuesday.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported Wednesday that 97,436 people voted in-person on Tuesday. That is up from 79,774 who cast ballots on opening day of in-person voting in 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that year, in-person voting numbers were down while absentee voting by mail was higher.
As of Wednesday, 475,460 absentee ballots had been returned, including those sent by mail and cast in person. That is less than half of the more than 1 million that had been returned by that point four years ago.
There are more than 3.5 million registered voters in Wisconsin, but voters can register and vote on Election Day.
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The larger-than-expected outpouring of voters Tuesday caused a slowdown of the WisVote system that some clerks use to print a label that is placed on the outside of an in-person absentee ballot, said the elections commission, which noted that staff worked quickly to increase system capacity.
"We went in, increased our server space and are planning to increase it a little more assuming that past is prologue and we will have other days that will exceed this one," said Ann Jacobs, the commission's Democratic chair.
She put a positive spin on the delay, calling the large turnout that resulted in the problem "terrific."
"Lots of people came out," Jacobs said. "The system slowed, it never went all the way down but it did slow quite a bit, we’re pretty confident it won’t happen again."
Scott McDonell, the Dane County clerk, said he wasn't surprised by the high level of first-day voters given that it has also happened in other states this year.
Wisconsin is one of a small number of battleground states where the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump could go either way. That has resulted in massive spending by both sides in the state, encouragement to vote early, and numerous visits from the candidates and their surrogates.
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"These were all the voters who had their mind made up for some time," McDonell said. "I think we saw across the state more Republicans voting early, which is a good thing. There shouldn't be a difference in how people vote."
Wisconsin early in-person voting kicks off with delays due to high voter turnout
Long lines and hours-long wait times, the first day of early in-person voting in Wisconsin kicked off with a hitch on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
Voters in Wisconsin don't register by party, so it's impossible to know how many Republicans and Democrats have returned ballots so far.
McDonell predicted that turnout will be high for a couple of days and then slow down. He recommended that voters wait a couple of days to vote in person.
New Berlin City Clerk statement
On Tuesday, October 22nd, Wisconsin witnessed the highly anticipated start of In-Person Absentee Voting. As expected, voter turnout surged, with hundreds of dedicated voters lining up to exercise their right to absentee vote in this critical election. The City of New Berlin and municipal clerks statewide anticipated a strong voter turnout and were fully prepared to handle it.
Each municipality in Wisconsin is responsible for administering elections at the local level. These municipalities manage essential election tasks such as voter registration, ballot access, tracking, and polling locations through a statewide voter system known as WisVote. WisVote, developed and maintained by the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), is vital in supporting state, county, and municipal election operations, ensuring a unified and efficient process.
When participating in In-Person Absentee Voting, voters present a valid photo ID and provide their name and address, just as on Election Day. The election official enters these details into WisVote, which generates a label with the voter’s information. This label is affixed to the Official Absentee Ballot Certificate envelope, which must be completed before the absentee ballot is issued. This ensures all necessary information is accurately recorded and verified in WisVote, allowing for quick voter verification and efficient ballot issuance when the system functions properly.
The City of New Berlin was open from 10 AM to 6 PM on the first day of In-Person Absentee Voting. Early on, our election team noticed WisVote was running slower than usual, likely due to the high volume of municipal clerks statewide processing absentee ballots and managing long voter lines. Typically, voter labels print in seconds, but it took approximately 30 seconds on this day, eventually stretching to 1-2 minutes. Despite the slowdown and the many eager absentee voters, our team stayed focused and worked efficiently to keep the process moving smoothly. By 12:45 PM, label printing times had extended to 10-15 minutes per label. The WisVote system also froze multiple times, requiring reboots and further slowing the process. The Wisconsin Elections Commission was contacted immediately, and they confirmed the issue was a statewide problem with WisVote due to bandwidth limitations. They explained that the high voter turnout exceeded expectations, causing system strain, and they were working to resolve it.
The New Berlin elections team found that all WisVote functions worked smoothly except for printing voter labels. With hundreds of voters waiting to vote, the City Clerk and election team swiftly implemented contingency plan B, which had been successfully used in past elections when similar WisVote issues occurred. Plan B allowed the team to manually enter voter information into WisVote, confirming registration and ensuring no absentee ballot had been issued by mail. Voters handwrote their name and address on the envelope, keeping lines moving and absentee voting efficient. Voters responded positively, and the team remained transparent about the WisVote issue.
Voters were informed that at the end of each day during In-Person Absentee Voting, all processed Absentee Ballot Certificate & Application envelopes are reconciled with WisVote data to ensure accuracy. During this process, the election team will reprint labels for any voters missing them, provided the WisVote issue is resolved. While labels aren't mandatory if the envelope is complete, they significantly streamline ballot processing on Election Day, especially with the expected high volume of absentee ballots that election teams must process. Despite efficiently processing absentee voters, the slow performance of the WisVote system, combined with a constant flow of voters, led to long lines and extended wait times due to the high turnout. At peak times, voters faced wait times ranging from 1 to 1 ½ hours.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission explained that the WisVote system was overwhelmed by the large number of users accessing it simultaneously. To address this, they are working with their partner state agency to install additional RAM and CPU on their servers, which they believe will enhance system performance. The Commission acknowledges the inconvenience this has caused and is hopeful these upgrades will resolve the issue moving forward. They also extend their apologies for the disruption experienced by voters and election teams.
On behalf of the New Berlin election team, I want to thank the absentee voters who came to City Hall on the first day of In-Person Absentee Voting. Your patience and understanding mean so much to us, and we remain committed to providing a smooth voting experience for all. For those who chose not to wait due to long lines, we encourage you to return as voting continues through November 1st, 2024. For details, please visit www.NewBerlinWI.gov.
As of today, we are not experiencing any issues with the WisVote system in printing absentee labels. However, should any problems arise again, we are well-prepared with contingency plans to adapt swiftly and ensure the process continues smoothly. A special thank you to our city staff and election team for their efficiency and transparency during the process. On October 22nd, we processed over 1,000 inperson absentee applications. Your dedication ensured that absentee voting continued smoothly, even under pressure. The City of New Berlin is committed to ensuring the fairness and integrity of the election process; we take immense pride in serving the voters of New Berlin and upholding the integrity of our democratic system. I encourage all voters to express their gratitude to our election officials—they work incredibly hard and truly deserve our appreciation.