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    • Milwaukee reruns more than 30,000 ballots due to error
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    Milwaukee reruns more than 30,000 ballots due to error

    Harry Posted on

    The City of Milwaukee restarted processing of about 31,000 ballots after an election observer brought to officials’ attention that the doors covering the on-off switches on some machines used to count those votes were not properly closed, the city’s top elections official said. in question.

    Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez said Tuesday evening that the decision to begin the recount of those votes was made “out of an abundance of caution” and in consultation with Democrats and Republicans.

    “I know these machines are extremely safe, there was no interference,” he said. “We were able to confirm this.”

    Gutiérrez did not know why the doors were not closed properly, which caused the seals on the doors to become loose.

    He and other city officials refused to name the top election official who did not properly close the gates.

    Unsealed doors cover the on-off switch, which means if the machine is tampered with, it will shut down, he said. He said the machines were not turned off.

    Gutiérrez said a shut-down machine is “a very obvious thing that we all will see here in this public space.”

    The city ultimately transmitted the absentee ballot results to the Milwaukee County Courthouse via flash drives. Wednesday morning around 3:24. The district governorship uploaded these results to its own system. election night site around 4:30 in the morning

    Republicans criticize Milwaukee after absentee voting issue

    In a statement, the Republican National Committee accused the city of counting absentee ballots in “unsafe conditions.”

    “This is an unacceptable example of election administration incompetence in a critical situation: voters deserve better, and we unequivocally call on Milwaukee officials to do their job and count votes quickly and efficiently,” said RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump. he said. in the statement. “Anything less would undermine voter confidence.”

    LIVE BROADCAST: Wisconsin election results

    In Wisconsin, municipalities cannot begin counting absentee ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day. A bipartisan bill that would have allowed voting to begin a day earlier was rejected in the Republican-controlled state Senate.

    Gutiérrez responded to the RNC by telling the city’s central count was “one of the safest operations.”

    “We’ve been completely transparent. We’ve brought Democrats and Republicans together to help us make sure this is safe,” he said.

    Wisconsin Democratic Party Communications Director Joe Oslund said the party is “confident the city will make sure every vote is counted.”

    Absentee ballot results expected delay due to reprocessing in Milwaukee

    Even before the error was discovered, city officials expected final absentee ballot results would not be released until the early morning hours.

    Still, Gutiérrez said the reprocessing of about 31,000 ballots through machines went faster than the first time because the ballots were now flatter and election workers were “in their flow.”

    (This story has been updated with new information.)

    Check back for updates on this story.

    Harry
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