What Wisconsin poll workers want us to know | WUWM 89.7 FM

In 2020, former President Donald Trump falsely claimed the election was stolen from President Joe Biden. Since then, distrust of elections and skepticism of the people who run them have grown.

In Wisconsin, election administration is highly decentralized. It is run by hundreds of municipal and county officials under the guidance of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

WUWM sent a survey to municipal officials across Wisconsin who administer elections. We received feedback from about 180 of them. Two Milwaukee-area employees, Sandy Kulik of Hales Corners and Catherine Roeske of Oak Creek, spoke Lake effect in a detailed interview.

Here’s a summary of what officials told us about the issues they’re facing and how they want people to be better informed about elections.

For reliable election information, use MyVote

Use myvote.wi.gov to register to vote, check if you’re registered, see what’s on your ballot, request an absentee ballot, track your ballot, and find your polling place.

Kulik and Roeske say they have fielded calls from concerned voters who received mass emails with inaccurate information. Sometimes the mailers tell people they are not registered to vote, even if they are.

“Unfortunately, it perpetuates distrust in the way elections are conducted,” Roeske said.

Roeske and Kulik say for reliable information, go to myvote.wi.gov or ask your local clerk.

Postal voting is safe

Clerks say there are misunderstandings about how mail-in ballots are handled.

Wausau Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde wrote in her response to our survey: “Every mail-in ballot and vote must be traced back to a registered voter. We spend a lot of time collecting applications, ballots and turnouts to ensure that every eligible voter can exercise their right to vote.”

When clerks receive an incomplete mail-in ballot, they contact the voter and ask them to correct it.

In larger municipalities, mail-in ballots are sometimes counted at a “central counting location,” where ballot envelopes are checked for required information, opened, and then processed by voting machines.

Roeske says processing mail-in ballots takes time.

“I wish voters could see how long this takes for a larger community,” Roeske said. “Now everyone wants the instant gratification of whoever won and if they don’t get that straight away then that’s suspicious. So that’s frustrating for the clerk.”

Roeske and Kulik expect to work 18 to 20 hours a day on election day.

Elections are certain

Election officials emphasize that there are numerous controls in place to ensure the integrity of the vote.

If someone votes by mail, this will be noted in the local clerk’s poll book. If that person tries to vote in person again on Election Day, the poll book will show that they have already cast an absentee ballot.

The machines used to count ballots are not connected to the Internet. They are tested twice to ensure they count results correctly before being used in an election.

On election day, the ballots are entered into the machine and remain there. The tabular evaluation will only take place after the polling stations have closed.

After an election, the total number of votes is compared with the results of the tabulator machines. This customer survey is conducted at the district and state levels and, in some elections, at the local level. This means that the results are checked several times for accuracy.

Employees face greater scrutiny and threats

About 20 of the 180 employees we surveyed said they had received threats or engaged in belligerent behavior during the election. Many clerks are taking extra precautions for the November election, including having police at polling places and training poll workers in de-escalation.

“Fortunately, [aggressive behavior from voters] is a pretty rare thing, there are a handful here and there in an 18-hour day,” says Kulik.

They can help make the work of poll workers easier

Some things that will help clerks: Return your mail-in ballot, register to vote before Election Day, and don’t write in votes for fictitious people.

Don’t talk about politics during the election. This is called election campaigning and is not allowed.

Conducting safe and trustworthy elections is very important to poll workers and poll workers

“I just wish the public would understand that we take this very seriously,” Kulik said.

“I have the feeling that we are in a time of crisis of confidence in elections,” says Roeske. “Everyone says, ‘Well, not YouI trust YouI don’t trust that Proceedings.’ And I think you understand that I create and manage the process?”

Roeske says if you’re skeptical about elections, volunteer at the polls so you can witness the process firsthand.