The City of Milwaukee Election Commission released the following statement
“The city estimates that around 2,000 of 47,500 absentee ballots were reconstructed during the processing of absentee ballots.”
“In each election, there are absentee ballots that have to be reconstructed due to voter error or damage to the ballot. Examples of voter errors include marking X’s on ballots or using pencil to mark the ballot. Damage to the ballots can occur during the mail processing of the ballot. With this election, ballots were also damaged during the sealing of the envelope at in-person absentee voting. If adhesive from the envelope transferred onto the ballot, the ballot was reconstructed rather than risk any compromise to the tabulators ability to read all votes on the ballot.”
“The process for reconstructing a ballot is entirely transparent, dictated by state law and was followed by the City of Milwaukee. Primarily, the process involves two election workers ensuring the voter’s candidate selections are copied from the unreadable or damaged ballot to a new ballot. Observers from all political parties as well as the public were present for the reconstruction of all damaged absentee ballots.”
“The city estimates that around 2,000 of 47,500 absentee ballots were reconstructed during the processing of absentee ballots.”
“In 2016, the City of Milwaukee, along with a coalition of Wisconsin clerks, advocated to the Legislature for Wisconsin to join other states and offer “true” early voting, where tabulators are used during the early voting process. A change to this process would have expedited the release of election night results and significantly reduced the volume of ballots that had to be reconstructed.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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