Poll workers in Wisconsin are working around the clock to transfer data from misprinted absentee ballots to clean ballots. The misprinted ballots can jam the counting machines, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to take a case that would have told officials how to deal with the ballots. As a result, clerks must abide by a state law that prevents them from making changes to the ballots, forcing poll workers to transcribe the information. Due to another state law, they could not start the process until the polls opened at 7 a.m. on election day.
Outagamie County Clerk Lori O'Bright told CNN that she estimates there are about 13,500 ballots that need to be transcribed, and she requested the help of 20 Nationals Guardsmen to assist with the process. Her office said that it takes about four minutes to transfer the ballots, making it nearly impossible to count all of the ballots before the deadline at 4 p.m. on Wednesday (November 4).
The ballots cannot be hand-counted because municipalities are not allowed to hand-count some ballots while using the electronic machines to count others. The Clerk's Office assured voters that no matter what happens, their votes will be counted.
"Voters don't need to do anything at this point. Per the court's decision and following the letter of the law, voters can be assured that all votes will be counted. If a voter cast a ballot with the misprinted timing mark, they can rest assured their votes will be counted."
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