Milwaukee Announces Snap Recount Of Absentee Ballots: ‘A Long Night Just Got Longer’

In a development that could prolong Election Day counting efforts, Milwaukee officials announced they will recount around 30,000 absentee ballots following the discovery of an unsealed tabulator.

According to A.J. Bayatpour, who first reported the incident, the Milwaukee Election Commission decided to recount the ballots out of an abundance of caution, extending an already intense night of vote tallying in Wisconsin’s largest city.

The unsealed tabulator prompted immediate scrutiny, with election officials opting to rerun each ballot through the process to ensure accuracy. With over 100,000 absentee ballots submitted for today’s election, the recount process will add considerable time to Milwaukee’s election operations, already running late into the evening.

The Milwaukee Election Commission has received more than 100,000 absentee ballots in this election.

Milwaukee Co. GOP Chair @HilarioDeleon12 is there and told @TajmaHallTV he doesn’t think there was anything “nefarious” that happened

— A.J. Bayatpour (@AJBayatpour) November 5, 2024

Milwaukee County GOP Chairman Hilario DeLeon was on-site for the recount, saying that he does not believe any “nefarious” activity led to the tabulator issue. Officials have informed CBS 58 that the processing and counting of votes in Wisconsin are expected to extend well beyond midnight. In contrast to other states, Wisconsin law stipulates that absentee ballots can only be opened and counted on Election Day.

“The machines were still running. I didn’t really see anything nefarious. It was just probably human error at this point in time,” Deleon said on the situation. “Very thorough process. I want to thank all the people who have joined us here today at central count to make sure that the voices of Milwaukeeans from all neighborhoods across the city are heard.”

CBS 58 also uncovered a problem with the stickers on the ballots interfering with the glass doors of some machines. However, this was swiftly addressed after being reported to election officials, who, along with an observer from both the Republican and Democratic parties, ensured each machine was checked and corrected.

As of 4:30 p.m. local time, more than 106,000 absentee ballots have been returned. At last check, over 4,000 had been counted. The recount decision comes at a pivotal moment for Milwaukee, a key city in Wisconsin where absentee ballots are expected to play a major role in close races.

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