Some Milwaukee absentees to be retabulated out of ‘abundance of caution,’ after consulting with GOP & Dem officials

Milwaukee's election administrator Paulina Gutierrez, left, talks to Phyllis Whitley, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in the city's election operation center in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

By Pat Kreitlow

November 5, 2024

About 31,000 absentee ballots will be run through tabulating machines again after doors were found not properly closed.

Approximately one-third of Milwaukee’s absentee ballots had been run through tabulator machines Tuesday afternoon when an observer noticed doors on the machines were not properly closed and locked—leading officials to reset the machines and start over on the roughly 31,000 ballots that had been processed to that point.

“We have no reason to believe that there was any compromise to any of the machines,” city spokesperson Jeff Fleming told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “But because they were not fully sealed — human error — and not fully sealed, we are going to zero them all out again … and then rerun the balance that had already been processed.”

“It’s just out of an abundance of caution.”

A reporter for Fox 6 quotes a Milwaukee Election Commission document titled “Central Count Tabulator Results Procedure,” that says each machine is supposed to be zeroed out and the door that houses the power button to each machine “is locked and sealed” before ballot processing begins. An observer noticed the doors were not completely closed, therefore not locked.

A CBS 58 reporter was told by Milwaukee County Republican Chair Hilario Deleon that “he doesn’t think there was anything nefarious that happened.”

After discovering the issue, according to the Wisconsin State Journal, Milwaukee election chief Paulina Gutierrez went from tabulator to tabulator with representatives from both parties to close and lock the panels.

“If it would be tampered with, it would completely turn off..that would be very evident,” Gutierrez said.

Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs posted to Twitter/X: “This will delay Milwaukee’s reporting. However, this was absolutely the right decision for them to make. And it was important to make this decision *before* the results were known. This is the right thing to do. When mistakes are made, acknowledge them, fix them, explain them. So sorry my friends, it will be a very late night here in beautiful Milwaukee.”

Approximately 105,000 absentee ballots had been received by Milwaukee officials. The tabulators are not connected to the internet.

Author

Pat Kreitlow

The Founding Editor of UpNorthNews, Pat was a familiar presence on radio and TV stations in western Wisconsin before serving in the state Legislature. After a brief stint living in the Caribbean, Pat and wife returned to Chippewa Falls to be closer to their growing group of grandchildren. He now serves as UNN's chief political correspondent and host of UpNorthNews Radio, airing weekday mornings 6 a.m.-8 a.m on the Civic Media radio network and the UpNorthNews Facebook page.

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CATEGORIES: Election 2024

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