Officials are asking for patience during record-breaking voter turnout in Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – High early voter turnout partially overwhelmed the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s check-in system, leading to lines and wait times for in-person absentee voting across the state.

Some early voters in Madison, Middleton and Janesville said they waited more than two hours to cast their ballots on Wednesday, the second day of in-person absentee voting in the state.

According to the AP, 97,000 people voted in advance on Tuesday.

“You know, we’ve never had volume like this,” said Janesville Clerk Treasurer Lori Stottler. “If you wait an hour and your patience is at an end, please understand that these are not city-paid employees. Some of us are, of course, but many of them are just your friends and neighbors stepping forward to do their best. So please be kind and please be patient.”

Stottler and Dane County Clerk Scott McDonnel said early in-person voting will be busier this year than in previous years, in part because both Democratic and Republican parties are pushing mail-in voting.

“I would encourage people to vote early because you don’t know what’s going to happen on Election Day,” said Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde. “We had this beautiful weather, but there could be a snowstorm on Election Day.”

“We put our ballots in the mailbox and tracked online whether they were received. “So now we know our vote will be counted and that’s really important because you never know what could happen on Election Day,” said State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison. “There could be a snowstorm or it could be 80 degrees. You want to make sure your vote is saved, and that’s why early voting is absolutely the way to go.”

On Wednesday, the WEC said they are working to improve the tagging check-in process and that they have an IT team reviewing the digital system that is slowing things down for the entire state.

“WEC staff learned Wednesday that the system delay affects not only the printing of WisVote labels, but also appears to be affecting some non-election-related state systems,” said spokesman Riley Vetterkind. “The high number of in-person absentee ballots still appears to be exacerbating the problem.”

Both Stottler and McDonell hope the delays don’t stop people from voting.

“It works and everything is correct,” Stottler said. “I don’t want to scare voters that nothing will happen to their ballots, it’s just that things are moving very, very slowly and I hope we can speed that up so we can continue to serve a good cause.” Number of voters in the days we have.”

“The interesting thing is that people often think, ‘Oh, I’ll go on the first day of early absentee voting and skip the lines, and then they end up in a line,'” McDonell said. “I could have told you that. Wait until Friday and everything will be fine. It will be quicker to be absent early.”

Early in-person voting may not take place at the same location as voting on Election Day. Voters should therefore check with their town clerk before leaving to find the correct location.

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