Milwaukee officials were working to send more ballots and staff to the seven polling sites that ran out of ballots amid a “historic” turnout, the city’s top election official said.
Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutierrez said along with ballots, the city was sending early vote machines to impacted sites. Those allow voters to register their selections on an electronic screen. It then prints a ballot that can be fed through counters.
“We apologize for the delays that are happening,” Gutierrez said during a media briefing. “We ask you to remain patient. Please stay in line.”
Polls close at 8 p.m.
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Gutierrez said city officials didn’t believe they would need to seek any court orders to keep polling sites open because of the efforts to deliver additional ballots and machines.
Meanwhile, Green Bay Clerk Celestine Jeffreys said during an early evening media availability that she was confident the city’s central count would wrap up its tally of absentee ballots between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Follow tonight’s developments in the Election Blog.
