Wisconsin Begins Counting With Early Vote Surge and Tabulator Glitch

Polls in Wisconsin closed at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, marking the end of a voting day where early participation set new records for the state.

Voters cast ballots for the next governor, all state legislative seats, U.S. House representatives, and statewide offices including attorney general, secretary of state, and treasurer. The electorate also answered three questions on amending the state constitution.

Participation in early voting rose sharply compared to the 2022 midterms. As of Monday, Wisconsin had processed 777,739 returned mail-in ballots, an increase from 741,795 in the previous cycle. In-person early voting surged to 463,491 votes, up from 318,130 in 2022.

In Milwaukee, the central facility for counting absentee ballots opened at 7 a.m. at the Italian Community Center. A banner congratulating the Milwaukee Brewers on their World Series victory hung above the entrance. Officials began processing ballots shortly after the doors opened.

At approximately 8:30 a.m., staff at the facility noticed that one of the 10 tabulators had an unsealed door. Milwaukee election chief Paulina Gutiérrez told Votebeat that the door had been locked but jammed, which prevented the seal from being applied initially.

Gutiérrez stated that no ballots had been run through the machine before the issue was detected. Officials sealed the device and generated a report confirming that the count for that unit was zero. A Republican observer noted that the zero-count report alleviated concerns about the integrity of the process.

Statewide, the counting process varies by municipality. In most areas, including Madison, absentee ballots are distributed to polling places for tabulation throughout the day. In cities like Milwaukee and Green Bay, votes are tallied in central locations. The results reported on election night are unofficial until local officials complete the canvass and certification process.

Wisconsin election rules allow voters in line at 8 p.m. to cast their ballots. Local officials determined the specific locations for counting absentee ballots, with some requiring poll workers to announce voter names and check them against poll lists before feeding ballots into tabulators.