Wisconsin recently held its primary election, and as the results came in, state residents were in for a surprise. David Crowley, a candidate who had previously dropped out and then rejoined the race, upset the heavily favored Francesca Hong.
Unfortunately, controversy followed due to issues with reporting that delayed the final vote tally. The delay stemmed from “human error,” as five of the nine USB flash drives did not properly download election results. This mistake prompted criticism from across the political spectrum, and even resulted in a viral clip of NBC News anchor Steve Kornacki’s reaction.
Although the issue was resolved later that night, it was yet another incident amid several recent controversies around voter-integrity issues in Wisconsin. During the 2024 presidential election, 30,000 absentee ballots were recounted after staffers failed to secure tabulator doors, resulting in a delay of roughly 105K ballots. During the 2020 presidential election, Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall forgot a flash drive containing vote totals, which delayed final results.
Wisconsin voters deserve quick, transparent results from their elections. It’s critical for ensuring voters trust the electoral process and can walk out of the voter booth with the confidence that their voices have been heard.
Election integrity is a core issue that we’ve long focused on here at Our America. We’ve promoted, including increased election oversight, stronger voter ID laws, and more civic education so volunteers can quickly deliver results. You can read our full paper on election integrity to learn more about our proposed solutions.
