A lot of work goes into Wisconsin elections, and much of it is done at the local level.
That was the message from Wisconsin Election Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, who spoke last night (March 27th) at the Manitowoc Public Library for a presentation hosted by the library and League of Women Voters Manitowoc County.
Her presentation explained how elections are run at the municipal or local, county, and state level, with Wisconsin having 1,850 municipal clerks, which is the most of any state in the US.
She says that means that elections are truly run at the local level, unlike other states where the county clerk runs everything.
“So, when we say that elections are a local process in Wisconsin, we absolutely mean it,” she explained. “Because more so than any other state, elections are a local process.”
She says local clerks have a lot of responsibility from getting ballots to voters on Election Day and before if anyone votes absentee at a city or village hall.
They also work before Election Day collecting ballot access papers for people running in local races and help people make sure that people are registered to vote.
A concern for voters has been about voting equipment and what’s used to count ballots.
Wolfe says municipal clerks handle that too and are required to have public tests no more than 10 days before an election, which will be posted.
“This is such a good opportunity for you to go and talk with your municipal clerk,” she stated. “To have an opportunity to see how the equipment works and to get a better understanding of it.”
After polls close and workers start to count votes, Wolfe says in Wisconsin they can’t stop until all the votes are counted at all precincts.
She also noted how all ballots have a paper backup in Wisconsin, which is a requirement by state law.
Wolfe also explained what happens at the state and federal levels, which we will have in a future story.
