Election Day disruptions top worry list for commissioners

(The Center Square) – Members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission are not worried about computer glitches or a shortage of ballots on Election Day in November.

They’re worried about outside agitation and election disruptions.

Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs told WisPolitics her biggest fear on is an effort to freeze Wisconsin’s votes.

“I do worry about a concerted attempt to shut down voting day of, or evening of, [Election Day],” Jacobs explained. “I worry about attempts to prevent the canvassing of votes. Those sort of attempts to prevent Wisconsin's votes from going to Washington and be counted, is probably my greatest concern.”

Jacobs didn’t say who she worries will try and stop voting or how she thinks that may happen.

She did say Wisconsin has never had an election interrupted.

“And we've never seen anything like that happen before and I do have trust in our clerks and in our boards of canvas to do the right thing,” she added.

Jacobs is not alone in worrying about outside interference in Wisconsin’s pending election.

Republican Elections Commissioner Don Mills said he too is worried that someone, or a group, may try and derail the process this fall.

“I worry about malign actors trying to stir up distrust in election results,” Mills told WisPolitics. “I'm not necessarily talking about candidates. I'm talking about foreign countries. I'm talking about some of these bad actors. You know, we had an encampment about a 9-iron shot from a polling place in Madison. And I worry that if clerks in some of these college towns aren't careful or prepared, we could have an occupation.”

Mills too said he doesn’t think his fear is likely, but he said it is his biggest fear heading into Election Day this year.

Wisconsin is among the closest battleground states, and recent polls suggest the state is essentially tied in a race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump lost Wisconsin by 22,000 votes in 2020. That close margin touched off a number of legal challenges and had Trump looking for some way to recount the ballots or get some votes tossed.

Jacobs and Mills said voters in Wisconsin can trust the electoral process in the state, even with a few new tweaks to the state’s elections laws.

The biggest is the reintroduction of ballot drop boxes, and the end of a one-size-fits all rule for local clerks in how they instruct voters using absentee ballots.

Early, in-person absentee voting has already begun for the August Primary. Early voting will continue until Aug. 9. The Primary is on Aug. 13.