Almost 100,000 People Take Part in First Day of Early Voting
The unexpected surge in early voting caused the state's computer system to slow down Tuesday.
People line up to vote early in Milwaukee on Oct. 23, 2024. Evan Casey/WPR
Nearly 100,000 Wisconsinites cast early ballots on the first day of in-person absentee voting, which caused long lines and lags in the state’s voting software.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported a total of 97,436 people cast in-person absentee ballots Tuesday. During the first day of early in-person voting in the 2020 election, 79,774 ballots were cast.
[inarticlea]Long lines were reported Tuesday at polling places in cities like Milwaukee and Madison. As they waited, representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties held events encouraging their supporters to vote early.
Former President Barack Obama was in Madison with vice presidential nominee Tim Walz urging Democrats to vote ahead of the upcoming presidential election. At the same time, former President Donald Trump’s campaign held a virtual press conference encouraging the GOP faithful to “bank” their early votes in order to avoid long lines and potential snow storms on Nov. 5.
The surge of in-person absentee turnout appeared to catch state election officials by surprise, and caused the state’s WisVote system to slow down. Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs said on the social media platform X that the commission worked with the Wisconsin Department of Enterprise Technology to create more computer server space to address the increased demand.“We apologize for underestimating the incredible enthusiasm you all have for voting,” Jacobs said. “This is unheard of turnout for the first day of in-person absentee voting!!”
People voting early in Milwaukee on Oct. 23, 2024. Evan Casey/WPR
As of Wednesday morning, there were still lines outside of a Milwaukee Election Commission early voting site on Capitol Drive. Gregory and Denise Johnson told WPR they tried to vote in-person Tuesday, but the lines were too long.
[inarticled ad=”um_in-Article-2′]“To see the turnout and the enthusiasm, it feels really good to see it and to be a part of it,” Denise Johnson said.
Tuesday’s in-person absentee totals represent a 22 percent increase over the totals from the first day of in-person absentee voting in the 2020 presidential election. However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the total of all absentee ballots cast in-person and by mail was significantly higher that year. All told, 1,027,585 absentee ballots were reported on Oct. 20, 2020. As of Tuesday, this year’s combined total was 475,460.
On the first day of early voting in 2022, residents turned in 33,644 in-person absentee ballots. Turnout during mid-term elections is typically much lower than it is in presidential election years.
Editor’s Note: Evan Casey contributed to this report.
Nearly 100K ballots cast on Wisconsin’s first day of in-person early voting was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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