Milwaukee to recount 30,000 absentee ballots after tabulator problem

The city of Milwaukee announced that about 30,000 absentee ballots will have to be re-tabulated as a precautionary measure, due to a problem detected in the tabulator machines. This incident originated at the tabulation center, where an election observer noticed that the door of one of the tabulators was not properly closed.

According to Jeff Fleming, city spokesman, although the machines were sealed, it was detected that the doors of 13 tabulators were not completely closed. This problem affected both absentee and in-person voting ballots. The situation was quickly addressed by Paulina Gutierrez, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission(MEC), who inspected the tabulators along with observers from both political parties.

Despite the concern generated by this discovery, observers do not believe there was interference in the counting process. Hilario Deleon, chairman of the Milwaukee County Republican Party, said, "I don't think it was tampered with. I think it was just a mistake."

To address the situation, the Milwaukee Election Commission decided to reopen the ballot envelopes and do the necessary preliminary work before processing them again. This process will involve recounting each ballot again, which could significantly extend the time required to complete the recount and delay the final tally.

This decision was made in consultation with officials from both parties. In addition, it was confirmed that the voting machines are not connected to the Internet and are set to zero at the beginning of each election day.