Milwaukee has asked for reinforcements from other parts of city government to help process the ballots. 31,000 votes short.
Ballots are piled up on a table at the Baird Center counting center during the 2024 U.S. presidential election in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on November 5, 2024.
Vincent Alban/Reuters
About 40 city employees — including firefighters, health workers, IT specialists and librarians — are helping with the absentee ballot count, according to a city official.
Absentee ballots are being recollected after several tabulators’ doors were improperly sealed due to human error, the Milwaukee mayor’s office said.
As the count continues, some Republicans have descended on the Baird Convention Center to wonder how this mistake happened.
“This looks like a real mess,” said Sen. Ron Johnson.
Johnson said he appeared at the polling station to “ask questions” and “restore confidence” in the results. He said he believes the city council was unprepared for the election.
Johnson was joined by GOP chairman Brian Schimming, who summed up the incident in a few words: “You had a job to do.”
The Milwaukee Board of Elections previously said the city has “no doubt about the integrity of the election.”
“However, in order to be completely transparent, to eliminate any doubt, the MEC has decided to start the tabulation process of all central votes. This decision was taken in consultation with the republican and democratic authorities”, stated the commission.
