October 23, 2024
In a startling development on the first day of early in-person voting in Wisconsin for the 2024 elections, numerous personal reports and firsthand accounts surfaced regarding massive disruptions caused by technical issues in the state’s voting systems. Voters were held up for hours, some escorted from the polls, while the electronic systems of the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) went into a state of meltdown.
The frenzy started at around noon on Tuesday, Oct. 22 when the WisVote system, which is critical to absentee voting and verifying voter registrations, became plagued by massive outages. These technical malfunctions meant lengthy lines, deferred processing, and a few voters being sent home for the day.
Chaos at Polling Stations
Voters reported a variety of problems, such as long delays with printing absentee ballots, difficulty authenticating voters, and crashes. Typical issues revolved around the system’s “bandwidth shortcomings,” which left no time for election officials to verify voters. Those hold-ups created widespread voter frustration throughout the state.
As reported by WBAY, lines were extremely long in Northeast Wisconsin, with some people waiting hours to vote. Some balked at the delay, citing it would keep other people from early voting.
WEC Response
The Wisconsin Elections Commission confirmed the malfunctions in a public statement, blaming the system failures on an overreach at the early in-person voting first day of voting. “Due to higher-than-expected turnout for the first day of in-person absentee voting, the WisVote system that some clerks use experienced a period of slowness that has now been resolved,” the WEC explained. The commission assured voters the problem was being fixed and that ballots could be counted by hand, if necessary.
The WEC also pointed out that the system latency should not hinder any voter. “WEC staff worked quickly to increase system capacity to ensure that clerks can continue to facilitate in-person absentee voting efficiently.”
Election Law and Voter Rights
Wisconsin has early in-person voting two weeks before the presidential election, by law. The voters must provide their name, photo ID, and signature absentee ballot forms, which must also be witnessed by another person. But these legal processes on the first day of early voting, where system glitches had ravaged all this lawmaking, were disrupted so badly that many voters could not finish voting.
Election staff assured voters absentee ballots would still be counted on Election Day as required by law, and the WEC was resolving the issues as quickly as possible.
FBI Concerns About Election Cybersecurity
The news comes after FBI Director Christopher Wray announced earlier this year that cyber attacks may occur against electronic voting devices during the 2024 election cycle. Wray toured 3,083 county sheriffs earlier this year and raised the possibility that the FBI could not avoid these attacks or help on the spot.
The Wisconsin incidents have raised the threat that those vulnerabilities could be tapped, further aggravating matters heading into Election Day.
RNC’s Response
The Republican National Committee (RNC) in response to the issue has also activated its election fraud hotline in Wisconsin, where reports of voting-station issues continue to pour in. The RNC, which has sent observers to monitor possible election rigging, condemned the situation and called for a fast solution so that voters aren’t evicted.
The RNC said it would resolve these issues soon and notify Wisconsin voters of developments.
A Glimpse into Potential 2024 Election Challenges
This gaffe resembles the 2022 Arizona election gaffe, where technical glitches took away time and confused people in polling places. Tech issues and office issues are already appearing in Wisconsin and some suspect they may represent signs of bigger issues during the 2024 election cycle.
This first day of early voting in Wisconsin has brought the integrity of the state’s voting systems into question, leaving many voters anxious about the efficiency and fairness of the upcoming election. As the WEC works to resolve these issues, voters are hoping for a smoother process in the coming days leading up to Election Day.
Sources:
- WBAY Voting Delays Report
- Wisconsin Elections Commission Statement
- FBI Director Wray: Election System Issues
