MILWAUKEE — The Wisconsin Election Commission has dropped Fiserv Forum and Miller Park as early in-person voting sites.
The Bucks along with the NBA had pushed for the arenas to be used as voting sites during the pandemic.
However, Wisconsin Election Commission said that the City of Milwaukee waited too long to add Miller Park and Fiserv Forum to the list of early voting sites.
“It’s frustrating and it’s a disservice to the people of Milwaukee,” said Alex Lasry, senior vice president at the Milwaukee Bucks.
Back in August, Fiserv Forum and Miller Park were selected mainly for their size to act as early in-person voting sites for the Milwaukee.
“In the spring we found voters found drive-thru voting a very popular option. We were trying to find a location where we wouldn’t create a two-mile back-up in downtown Milwaukee and Miller Park seemed perfect for that,” said Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission.
It's something Lasry says the Bucks players wanted.
“This was something they fought for. The league and the player’s association fought to have all arenas in the NBA become an early vote site. I imagine just like we are, the entire Bucks organization is disappointed,” said Lasry.
The Wisconsin Election Commission ruled Monday that the city waited too long, well past the June deadline, to add Miller Park and Fiserv Forum as additional voting sites.
“This decision and the threat of trying to invalidate an early vote site when all we're doing is trying to make it more accessible and easier for people to have their voice be heard and to vote,” said Lasry.
The city’s election commission says they made the decision to drop the sites rather than risk anyone’s vote.
“It was a very tough decision, but the last thing I would want is for City of Milwaukee voters use either of those sites, and then later have their ballots thrown out due to our mistake,” said Woodall-Vogg.
TMJ4 News reached out to the Brewers organization for a statement, and they said they are deferring all comments to the Milwaukee Election Commission.
In-person early voting in Milwaukee starts Tuesday, Oct. 20.
