Wisconsin Election Officials Hold Informative Town Hall on Election Integrity and Processes

On October 3, Pillars of the Community hosted a virtual “Ask Me Anything” town hall with Wisconsin voters and key election officials from across the state. The event, aimed to provide transparency and answer voter concerns, featured Meagan Wolf, Administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission; Lisa Tollefson, Rock County Clerk; and Paulina Gutierrez, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Election Commission. These experts shared insights into how elections in Wisconsin are run, safeguards in place, and critical steps taken to ensure election security and accuracy.

Meagan Wolf, who oversees the Wisconsin Elections Commission, discussed the state’s bipartisan approach to election administration. Rather than relying on a single partisan Secretary of State, Wisconsin’s elections are governed by a commission made up of three Democrats and three Republicans. Wolf’s role is to implement their directives, ensuring a balanced decision-making process that reflects the state’s diverse political landscape.

Rock County Clerk Lisa Tollefson provided an on-the-ground perspective from her work with 29 municipalities. From ensuring the availability of election supplies to training poll workers, her role is pivotal in ensuring that every election runs smoothly and fairly. 

Tollefson also emphasized the thoroughness of the election process, saying that she tells her team to prioritize accuracy. While the public and the media may want fast results on election night, Tollefson highlighted that ensuring every vote is counted properly is more important than speed.

Paulina Gutierrez, who oversees Milwaukee’s elections, shared insights into the unique process of counting absentee ballots in Wisconsin’s largest city. Milwaukee uses a central count system, where all absentee ballots are processed in one location rather than at individual polling places. The ballots cannot be opened until 7 AM on Election Day.

Security and Transparency: Key Takeaways

The town hall also touched on several measures in place to ensure election security and transparency across Wisconsin:

• Observers welcome: Both central count locations and polling places welcome public observers to ensure the integrity of the canvass, tabulation, and counting processes.
• Ballot security: Election officials adhere to strict chain-of-custody protocols. Ballot bags are sealed with unique codes and locked securely in vaults until they are counted.
• Accuracy checks: Since 2018, Wisconsin has performed post-election audits to confirm the accuracy of election results. 

The town hall provided attendees with a clear understanding of the safeguards in place to ensure Wisconsin’s elections are run with accuracy and security at the forefront. As Election Day approaches, Wisconsin’s election officials stressed that they want to run a transparent, accurate, and secure election and encouraged the public to ask questions about election processes.