WI Assembly Elections Chair Seeks Answers on Delay in Milwaukee Election Results

Early voting booth. Photo taken July 28, 2026 by Sophie Bolich.

The chair of the state’s Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections is seeking answers about the latest election day error in Milwaukee that led to a delay in results.

A few hours after the polls closed during the state’s primary election on Aug. 11, Paulina Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, said a “human error” had occurred, causing a delay. She said the audit log was downloaded for a few flash drives but not the actual results.

“These things can happen,” Gutiérrez said during a press conference about the error.

Wisconsin Rep. Dave Maxey, R-New Berlin, the chair of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, sent a letter to Gutiérrez on Friday, calling for a “full, public accounting” of what happened at the city’s central count location.

“This was a travesty, plain and simple, and voters deserve to know exactly why,” Maxey wrote in the letter.

Maxey said it was the third issue at Milwaukee’s central count site in the past few years. He mentioned a flash drive that was misplaced in 2020 and a sealing error on a vote tabulation machine in 2024.

“Three strikes is not bad luck, but rather a pattern of mismanagement, and every time it happens, your office hands a gift to the very people trying to convince Wisconsinites their votes don’t count,” Maxey wrote.

Paulina Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, speaks to reporters at Milwaukee’s central count facility on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. Evan Casey/WPR

Gutiérrez made an appearance on WISN12’s “UpFront” on Sunday to discuss the recent error. Regarding any possible investigation into how the error occurred, Gutiérrez said, “voter confidence is important to us, and we would welcome any investigation.”

Gutiérrez said the error “had absolutely no impact on the accuracy of election results.”

“It had an impact on when those results were posted,” Gutiérrez said on “UpFront.”

Before the error occurred, she said things were “running smoothly” on election night.

Gutiérrez has been director of the Milwaukee Elections Commission since 2024.

“Our teams are trained,” she said. “They had written instructions with them. They had done it before, and unfortunately, the mistake still happened. I can’t get into someone’s head, but what I know is that we’re learning from this mistake and making enhancements so that it doesn’t happen again.”

Gutiérrez said they are now including images on instructions.

“We’re doing briefings beforehand, reviewing it one more time, and we’re also providing the page by page process to observers so they can follow along as well,” Gutiérrez said.

Maxey, who was not available for an interview Monday, requested written responses to questions he posed in his letter, including whether the issue during the primary election was due to a “training failure.” He also asked what the state could do to help.

“Milwaukee has had three election cycles and three failures to get this right,” Maxey wrote. “A fourth will not be treated as an accident.”

Maxey asked that the Milwaukee Election Commission “make itself available” for a brief to the committee.

Wisconsin Rep. Scott Krug, R-Rome, the vice-chair of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, also said he’d like to learn more from the local election officials.

“If they can give us some more information — who, what, when, where, why and how — and what’s going to be better, great,” Krug said on “UpFront.”

“If they’re not going to be more forthcoming directly with us, then yes, we should have a hearing and let people know that you’re not going to have to wonder what’s going to happen in November,” he said.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson was unavailable for an interview Monday.

Wisconsin committee chair seeks answers on error in Milwaukee that delayed election results was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.