MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Milwaukee election officials are preparing to process and count tens of thousands of absentee ballots at Central Count.
In an effort to promote transparency, the Milwaukee Election Commission invited journalists inside the Italian Community Center, where absentee ballots will be processed, to get a closer look at the operation ahead of Tuesday's election.
Executive Director of the Milwaukee Election Commission Paulina Gutierrez led the tour, showing reporters the workstations, tabulating machines and secure ballot storage areas.
“This is an amazing thing to show democracy in action,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said just over 64,000 absentee ballots had been issued, with approximately 58,000 already at Central Count. About 130 election workers will operate across 10 pods and 10 tabulating machines.
Workers will first review ballots for eligibility before accepted ballots are prepared and processed through the machines.
Once counting is complete, election officials download the results onto data sticks. Gutierrez and the bipartisan Board of Election Commissioners then transport the data under police escort to the Milwaukee County Courthouse, where results are uploaded for the public to see.
A human error happened at Central Count during the August primary, delaying results from roughly 28,000 absentee ballots for several hours. Workers had accidentally uploaded audit logs instead of vote totals onto five of the nine flash drives.
TMJ4's Meryl Hubbard asked how officials are working to prevent similar mistakes this election, Gutierrez pointed to multiple layers of oversight and safeguards.
“Everything has a paper trail. Everything that happens in a machine is connected right to a ballot. And so, because we're humans, humans can make mistakes. That's why there's multiple layers and levels and paper trails to ensure that the accuracy and the security of the election isn't tampered with,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said officials are adding extra precautions to the results download process. Teams will use a point-and-call method, verbally confirming each step as they work through the process. Two teams will oversee the download, with bipartisan representation, and workers will have visual instructions and laminated guides to follow.
“I don't anticipate any issues with that tomorrow,” Gutierrez said.
The Milwaukee Election Commission also says Central Count is open to public observation, with processing set to begin at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
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