On Tuesday, October 22nd, Wisconsin witnessed the highly anticipated start of In-Person Absentee Voting. As expected, voter turnout surged, with hundreds of dedicated voters lining up to exercise their right to absentee vote in this critical election. The City of New Berlin and municipal clerks statewide anticipated a strong voter turnout and were fully prepared to handle it.
Each municipality in Wisconsin is responsible for administering elections at the local level. These municipalities manage essential election tasks such as voter registration, ballot access, tracking, and polling locations through a statewide voter system known as WisVote. WisVote, developed and maintained by the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), is vital in supporting state, county, and municipal election operations, ensuring a unified and efficient process.
When participating in In-Person Absentee Voting, voters present a valid photo ID and provide their name and address, just as on Election Day. The election official enters these details into WisVote, which generates a label with the voter’s information. This label is affixed to the Official Absentee Ballot Certificate envelope, which must be completed before the absentee ballot is issued. This ensures all necessary information is accurately recorded and verified in WisVote, allowing for quick voter verification and efficient ballot issuance when the system functions properly.
The City of New Berlin was open from 10 AM to 6 PM on the first day of In-Person Absentee Voting. Early on, our election team noticed WisVote was running slower than usual, likely due to the high volume of municipal clerks statewide processing absentee ballots and managing long voter lines. Typically, voter labels print in seconds, but it took approximately 30 seconds on this day, eventually stretching to 1-2 minutes. Despite the slowdown and the many eager absentee voters, our team stayed focused and worked efficiently to keep the process moving smoothly. By 12:45 PM, label printing times had extended to 10-15 minutes per label. The WisVote system also froze multiple times, requiring reboots and further
slowing the process. The Wisconsin Elections Commission was contacted immediately, and they confirmed the issue was a statewide problem with WisVote due to bandwidth limitations. They explained that the high voter turnout exceeded expectations, causing system strain, and they were working to resolve it.
The New Berlin elections team found that all WisVote functions worked smoothly except for printing voter labels. With hundreds of voters waiting to vote, the City Clerk and election team swiftly implemented contingency plan B, which had been successfully used in past elections when similar WisVote issues occurred. Plan B allowed the team to manually enter voter information into WisVote, confirming registration and ensuring no absentee ballot had been issued by mail. Voters handwrote their name and address on the envelope, keeping lines moving and absentee voting efficient. Voters responded positively, and the team remained transparent about the WisVote issue.
Voters were informed that at the end of each day during In-Person Absentee Voting, all processed Absentee Ballot Certificate & Application envelopes are reconciled with WisVote data to ensure accuracy. During this process, the election team will reprint labels for any voters missing them, provided the WisVote issue is resolved. While labels aren't mandatory if the envelope is complete, they significantly streamline ballot processing on Election Day, especially with the expected high volume of absentee ballots that election teams must process. Despite efficiently processing absentee voters, the slow performance of the WisVote system, combined with a constant flow of voters, led to long lines and extended wait times due to the high turnout. At peak times, voters faced wait times ranging from 1 to 1 ½ hours.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission explained that the WisVote system was overwhelmed by the large number of users accessing it simultaneously. To address this, they are working with their partner state agency to install additional RAM and CPU on their servers, which they believe will enhance system performance. The Commission acknowledges the inconvenience this has caused and is hopeful these upgrades will resolve the issue moving forward. They also extend their apologies for the disruption experienced by voters and election teams.
On behalf of the New Berlin election team, I want to thank the absentee voters who came to City Hall on the first day of In-Person Absentee Voting. Your patience and understanding mean so much to us, and we remain committed to providing a smooth voting experience for all. For those who chose not to wait due to long lines, we encourage you to return as in-person absentee voting continues through November 1st, 2024. For details, please visit www.NewBerlinWI.gov.
As of today, we are not experiencing any issues with the WisVote system in printing absentee labels. However, should any problems arise again, we are well-prepared with contingency plans to adapt swiftly and ensure the process continues smoothly. A special thank you to our city staff and election team for their efficiency and transparency during the process. On October 22nd, we processed over 1,000 in-person absentee applications. Your dedication ensured that absentee voting continued smoothly, even under pressure. The City of New Berlin is committed to ensuring the fairness and integrity of the election process; we take immense pride in serving the voters of New Berlin and upholding the integrity of our democratic system.
I encourage all voters to express their gratitude to our election officials—they work incredibly hard and truly deserve our appreciation.
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