Voting rights activists and others gather at the Midtown Center in Milwaukee on the first day of early voting in July 2022. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)
On the first day of in-person early voting in Wisconsin, 97,436 people cast ballots for the Nov. 5 election. So many people voted Tuesday that it caused a slowdown in the state election software system, leading to long lines in some places.
The number of votes cast on the opening day of early voting far exceeded other recent elections. In the 2022 midterm elections, which included elections for governor and the U.S. Senate, 33,644 people cast ballots on the first day of early voting. In the 2020 presidential election, 79,774 people showed up on the first day of early voting.
Despite Tuesday’s high turnout, the popularity of absentee voting overall still lags behind the 2020 presidential election, when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many voters to vote remotely.
After more than four years of Republicans and Donald Trump attacking the voting system and making accusations that all voting methods other than going to the polls on Election Day are vulnerable to fraud, Republicans this year still encouraged Republicans to vote early.
Democrats have also encouraged people to vote early. On Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee announced an ad campaign aimed at students at 30 college campuses across the country, including UW-Madison, touting early voting. The city of Madison has six early voting locations on the campuses of UW-Madison, Edgewood College and Madison College.
In traditionally Republican voting Waukesha County, 11,397 people cast ballots on Tuesday. Despite its status as a stronghold of the Republican Party, the county’s leftward drift has played a major role in Democratic victories in statewide elections in recent years.
Dane and Milwaukee counties, the largest Democratic areas in Wisconsin, saw the most early voting Tuesday, with 11,862 Dane County residents casting ballots and 12,282 Milwaukee County voters casting theirs.
In a news release Tuesday afternoon, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) said higher-than-expected turnout on the first day of early voting used up the capacity of the state’s WisVote system, which some county clerks use to issue a ticket. printing placed on the outside of envelopes for personal absence certificates.
“Today’s system delay was purely due to the demands placed on the WisVote system due to high voter turnout,” the release said. “This should not prevent any voter from voting in person today. WEC staff worked quickly to increase system capacity to ensure clerks can continue to efficiently facilitate in-person absentee voting.”
WEC President Ann Jacobs said the agency has been working with the state Department of Enterprise Technology to increase the capacity of the WisVote system.
“So many of you voted that you are overloading our computer systems! Amazing! We have been working with the Dept. of Enterprise Technology and have created more server space, so everything should be running smoothly now,” she wrote. “We apologize for underestimating the incredible enthusiasm you all have to vote. This is an unprecedented turnout for the first day of in-person absentee voting!! Everything is going well in our WisVote system and you should be able to vote without any problems.”
Early in-person absentee voting is available from now until the Saturday before the election. Opening hours and locations are determined by local municipal clerks. Voters can find out early in their community how to vote for MyVote.WI.Gov
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