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Have there been any issues at the polls?

Posted at 5:54 PM, Nov 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-09 02:13:55-05

With every election, there is bound to be a few problems.

County clerks across Wisconsin said they are pleased with how smoothly operations went during Tuesday’s election.

“There were a few minor glitches which were resolved quickly,” Milwaukee County Clerk Joseph Czarnezki said.

Czarnezki said the majority of issues centered on broken ballot counting machines which were fixed in a matter of minutes. There were also problems with people who didn’t understand Wisconsin’s voter ID law.

“We had a very aggressive campaign to remind people of the voter ID law,” Czarnezki said. “We advertised on radio, buses and newspapers and we try to make everyone aware that you need a photo ID to vote.”

Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Neil Albrecht said similar issues surfaced in the city.

“We have some voters that have some pretty profound challenges around either meeting the proof of residency requirements or photo ID requirements at their polling places,” he said.

In Waukesha, TODAY’S TMJ4 learned three polling locations in the Town of Lisbon ran out of ballots around 12:30 p.m.

The county clerk told TODAY’S TMJ4 new ballots were delivered by 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Also, the City of Madison obtained a court order to extend voting until 9 p.m. Tuesday evening at East High School due to a fire alarm that delayed that location from opening on time.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported that 30 call takers were busy answering phones all day from voters with questions and complaints.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the commission logged more than 600 phone calls.

“When we hear about possible problems at a polling place, we contact the clerk so he or she can try to resolve it,” spokesman Reid Magney said. “If we get a verified written complaint from someone which is very rare, then the Wisconsin Elections Commission would decide whether to have our staff do an investigation.”

Reid went on to say it could take several days or even a week to sort out how many voter complaints are legitimate.