County Officials Encourage Voter Participation, Trust in Election

Voter booth. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee County’s top elected officials urged county residents to vote Tuesday and trust the election results, whatever they may be.

County Executive David Crowley and County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson called on all residents to vote and encourage their friends and family to do the same. They were joined by Milwaukee County Election Director Michelle Hawley and county Deputy Clerk Stefan Dostanic, who also sought to dispel the notion that election results cannot be trusted.

“[Voting is] the most direct way that we as individuals can help shape the future of not only our communities, local communities, but our country and our entire world,” Crowley said.

Voters who still aren’t registered can do so at their polling place Tuesday, Crowley said, telling residents to enter their address in the state election website, and show up to the poll with a valid photo I.D. and a piece of mail proving their residence.

Polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Any voters who are in line before 8 p.m. will not be turned away, officials said. Additionally, voters have until 8 p.m. on election night to return an absentee ballot.

“If you’re in line by 8 p.m. stay in line, cast your vote,” Nicholson said. “Your ballot will be counted.”

The election results from Milwaukee County will likely not be finalized until after midnight, Hawley said. In-person votes are counted at polling places using electronic tabulators. The results are then transmitted to the county election commission using secure cellular modems, Hawley said.

Absentee ballots, which are what early voters cast, cannot be counted until polls close at 8 p.m. In Milwaukee County, nine municipalities including the City of Milwaukee use central county facilities. These facilities count the absentee votes using tabulators and then download the results onto encrypted thumb drives, which are brought to the county election commission.

“Please be patient. It takes a long time to count all of these ballots,” Hawley said. “Election officials will be working hard to provide results as soon as possible, and counting ballots takes time.”

Wisconsin’s elections have a number of protections against fraud, Hawley said, like paper ballots and vote counting machines that are not connected to the internet.

“That paper record can be further reviewed after the election and post-election audits and recounts,” Hawley said. “Presidential recounts conducted in both 2016 and 2020 in Milwaukee County only prove the accuracy of our systems.”

Calling for trust in election results is a relatively new development for American politics and a direct result of attempts by former president Donald Trump and his campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump’s campaign filed lawsuits across the country attempting to overturn election results in key swing states. The campaign sued to have ballots in Milwaukee and Dane County thrown out, which would have tipped the state and its 10 electoral votes in his favor. The suit was thrown out on a narrow vote by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Despite losing 61 of 62 lawsuits challenging the 2020 election, with the one victory a minor issue changing few votes, the former president and his political allies falsely claimed that he won, suggesting a conspiracy or widespread election fraud occurred. His supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in an attempt to stop the U.S. Senate from certifying the results of the election.

During a campaign stop in Milwaukee Friday, Trump repeated his false claim that he won Wisconsin in 2020.

With Trump on the ballot again, politicians and elected officials from both sides of the aisle have made the case for election integrity and trust in elections systems in the lead up to Tuesday.

“Our election system is secure, accurate and transparent,” said Deputy Clerk Dostonic. “There’s no doubt about it. It’s been proven over and over again.”

Election officials faced lawsuits and threats and attacks on their integrity following the 2020 election, Dostonic said, and these workers need residents to stand up for them and counter anyone trying to sow doubt about the election.

“If you’re the dinner table, if you’re at a little league game, if you’re at a gathering and someone says some nonsense — and it is nonsense the widespread election fraud — tell him, no, that’s not true,” Dostonic said. “Educate yourself, and please stand up for us.”