Latest news with #PaulinaGutiérrez
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What to know about Milwaukee's Election Day ballot shortages and changes coming in response
Ballot shortages during the April 1 election in Milwaukee were the subject of a shouting match at the Wisconsin Elections Commission April 17, bringing renewed attention to the issue that forced some city residents to wait hours to vote. The evening of the April 1 election, Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez reported ballot shortages and cited "unprecedented high turnout" in the election in which the high-stakes state Supreme Court race was on the ballot. "Our analysis revealed we had the resources to support our polling locations. … What we couldn't do is get those resources to our locations in time so voters wouldn't be impacted," she told the Journal Sentinel. Here's what to know about what happened and changes Gutiérrez said would be made to ensure it doesn't happen again. Nine polling sites temporarily ran out of ballots on Election Day and approximately 60 others experienced issues like ballot shortages, according to Gutiérrez. Gutiérrez cited a number of factors that contributed to the ballot shortages: High turnout, despite the city having ordered additional ballots and paper on which the Election Commission started printing more ballots for its polling sites ahead of Election Day. A high volume of incoming calls to hotlines used by election officials that made it hard to place outgoing calls to couriers whose role was to take the ballots to polling locations. The distance couriers had to travel from the Election Commission's operations center in Bay View during rush hour, when the shortages arose. (The nine sites that ran out of ballots were on the city's northwest side, far from the operations center, she said.) The printers generating the ballots also slowed as they heated up during the printing, compounding the delays. Milwaukee had 49% turnout for this year's spring election, which Gutiérrez called "insane" compared to past voting trends for an April election. She said historical turnout data no longer predicts how many people will cast ballots. Case in point: Turnout in another bitter and hard-fought state Supreme Court election two years ago attracted 39% turnout among Milwaukee residents. In future spring elections, Gutiérrez said she planned to make a series of changes: Ordering one ballot for each registered voter, a percentage of which will be absentee ballots. Expanding Election Day use of ExpressVote machines that are used at early voting and for ADA accessibility on Election Day. The ExpressVote machines allow voters to make their selections on a screen and print a ballot that can then be fed into the machine that tallies the votes. Creating an advisory council made up of election workers in charge of polling places, known as chief inspectors. Yes. The Election Commission will also be holding community listening sessions this summer, with dates yet to be determined. Those meetings will follow similar efforts to get feedback from chief inspectors in early May. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Milwaukee's April 1 election ballot shortages
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Milwaukee ran out of paper ballots April 1. This is absolutely unacceptable.
It's absolutely unacceptable that seven polling sites in the city of Milwaukee ran out of paper ballots ('Ballot shortages reported in Milwaukee during 'historic turnout in the spring election,'' April 1). This is just another form of voter suppression. While many voters were able to wait it out while the additional ballots were being delivered, others may have simply had to forgo their right to vote because they had jobs to get to, children to pick up, you name it. The city's Election Commission Executive Director, Paulina Gutiérrez, should be raising holy hell. Rob Guilbert, Brown Deer Opinion: Musk, billionaires took over Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The joke is on us. Letters: Wisconsin Republicans keep trotting out Milwaukee vote trope as built-in excuse Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state: Please include your name, street address and daytime phone. Generally, we limit letters to 200 words. Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter. Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing. Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person. We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions. We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters. Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months. All letters are subject to editing. Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@ or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Not everyone could wait to vote in WI Supreme Court election | Letters
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How many people voted in the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election?
Voter turnout in Wisconsin's hotly contested state Supreme Court election was so high Tuesday that some polling locations in Milwaukee ran out of ballots altogether. There was "historic turnout in the spring election, which has never occurred here in the city," Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez said Tuesday evening as officials worked to replenish ballot shortages. Beyond Milwaukee, voting surged statewide compared to the 2023 spring election, which also had a nationally watched Wisconsin Supreme Court race on the ballot. Here's what we know so far about voter turnout levels in Tuesday's election: With more than 95% of precincts reporting, 2,364,327 people cast ballots in the statewide Supreme Court election, according to Decision Desk HQ as of April 2. Slightly fewer people voted in the state superintendent election and on the voter ID referendum. About 2.2 million and 2.3 million Wisconsinites voted in each, respectively, according to Decision Desk HQ. Under 500,000 people statewide voted in the February primary for the April election, which did not include the Supreme Court race because only two candidates were running. Though WEC does not typically report an official voter turnout number, it does estimate voter turnout as a percentage of the state's population of people over age 18 that are eligible to vote. WEC estimates the voting age population was 4,676,183 as of 2022. Using this number, voter turnout in the state Supreme Court election would be nearly 51%. Using the number of active registered voters in Wisconsin as of April 1 — 3,833,452 — Tuesday's voter turnout would be almost 62%. But this only represents the percentage of registered voters, not all eligible voters in Wisconsin. It also doesn't include people who registered at the polls on Election Day. Meanwhile, turnout in the 2023 spring election was nearly 40%. About 675,000 Wisconsinites voted ahead of time in the spring election, either using a mail-in ballot or early voting location, according to data reported by the Wisconsin Elections Commission as of Tuesday. That's compared to around 435,000 absentee votes reported on Election Day in Wisconsin's 2023 Supreme Court election. In Milwaukee, nearly 110,000 people voted early. Other counties that led the state in early voting were Dane, Waukesha, Brown and Washington. Hope Karnopp contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin election turnout: How many voted in 2025 Supreme Court race?
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ballot shortages reported in Milwaukee during 'historic turnout in the spring election'
Milwaukee election officials are reporting ballot shortages at voting sites due to what they say is 'unprecedented high turnout' in Tuesday's spring election. Seven polling sites were totally out of ballots and election officials were working to replenish the supply. They are also checking with other sites that are low on ballots. Anyone in line by 8 p.m. will be able to vote, Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez said Tuesday evening. Officials said no voters would be turned away due to the shortages, and voters can call 414-286-VOTE with any concerns or questions. Election officials have increased field staff and sent ExpressVote machines that are used at early voting to those locations, along with additional ballots, she said. The ExpressVote machines allow voters to make their selections on a screen and print a ballot that can then be fed into the machine that tallies the votes. "The fact that this is historic turnout in the spring election, which has never occurred here in the city, feels great," she said. "We apologize for the delays that are happening. We ask you to remain patient. Please stay in line." Any voters who are told they cannot vote should alert election officials immediately, she said, adding that "absolutely should not happen." Gutiérrez said the Election Commission put in two additional orders of ballots about a week ago after seeing how busy early voting was. But the turnout on Tuesday meant the sites went through those additional ballots, forcing the Election Commission to print additional ballots. The printing can be a slow process, she said. On the ballot is the nationally watched state Supreme Court race in addition to the race for state superintendent. (This story was updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ballot shortages reported at some City of Milwaukee polling sites
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What time does voting end today in Wisconsin?
There's just a few hours left before polls close in Wisconsin's spring election. On the ballot are hotly contested Supreme Court and state superintendent races, along with a range of local races for county judges, school boards, city councils. If you haven't voted yet, here's how and where you can do so before polls close tonight. Polls will be open until 8 p.m. statewide. As long as you're in line at a voting location by 8 p.m., you'll be allowed to vote. If you haven't returned your absentee ballot yet, it's too late to mail it. However, there are still a few ways to make sure your municipal clerk receives it before 8 p.m. and your vote is counted. If you live in Milwaukee, you can return your ballot to one of the city's 14 drop boxes by 6 p.m. or bring it to the city's central count location at 1901 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. by 8 p.m. If you live elsewhere, you should call your clerk to ask about the best way to return your ballot. Some municipalities may ask you to bring it directly to the clerk's office or a polling place, while others may have their own drop boxes or central count locations. Your polling place is based on your address. Type in your address into "Find My Polling Place" at to find your polling location. Most election results will start rolling in several hours after polls close at 8 p.m. In Milwaukee, which typically reports results later in the evening due to absentee ballots, election results will not be fully tallied until after midnight for Tuesday's election, according to Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez. Live results will be posted to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's website as they become available. You can find live results here. Find more information here about how to vote in Wisconsin, including how to register at the polls if you're not yet a registered voter. Follow live Election Day coverage here. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How late are polls open in Wisconsin today?
