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2026 Wisconsin spring election: Minor issues at some polling locations
Several Milwaukee polling locations inside MPS buildings opened up to 40 minutes late Tuesday due to an overnight system update that restricted building access.
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Election Commission (MEC) and Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) were made aware on Tuesday morning, April 7, of several polling locations located inside MPS buildings that opened later than the required 7 a.m. start time. The delays were brief, with the latest location opening around 7:40 a.m., officials said.
NOTE: A news conference on this matter is expected to be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. FOX6 News plans to stream that event.
Delayed opening for some Milwaukee polling locations
What we know:
Officials said in a news release that the delayed openings stemmed from an overnight building access system update within MPS that unintentionally restricted early access to some school buildings. Those include Maryland Avenue, Green Bay School, Sherman Elementary and Environmental Sciences School.
"We take serving as election sites really seriously. This is an important function of our schools, being part of a working democracy. And so we really want to take responsibility for that, apologize for the delay that any voter experience," said Tony Tagliavia, Chief Communications Officer for Milwaukee Public Schools.
The issue was resolved quickly.
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The news release said election staff worked with school personnel to ensure the sites opened as quickly as possible. Based on current information, a small number of voters were impacted.
If a Milwaukee vote has any concerns about a polling site, they are encouraged to call 414-286-8683.
Glendale power outage
What we know:
In the City of Glendale, a power outage caused some issues at one polling place – City Hall.
It was around 9:40 a.m. when City Hall lost power. A city clerk told FOX6 News there is an emergency generator for the City Hall building. The ballot tabulators also have an emergency battery back up.
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Power outage at Glendale polling location
The polling location at Glendale City Hall lost power for a few minutes, which caused a minor delay for some voters.
Within about ten minutes from the time of the outage, everything was back to running as normal. The clerk indicated voters were patient and entered their ballots in to the tabulator once the power switchover was made.
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We Energies was able to fully restore power before 11 a.m. In a statement, We Energies said, "The outage was caused by a construction crew doing work in the city and they hit one of our underground cables. Not sure what work the construction crew was doing, it was not work for us."
Glendale City Hall polling location
Cast votes until 8 p.m.
What you can do:
Polls throughout Wisconsin are open until 8 p.m. and voters can cast their ballots as long as they’re in line by 8 p.m. All polling places are operating normally and will remain open until 8 p.m. as required by state law.
The Source: Information in this post was produced after visits to multiple polling locations in the Milwaukee and Waukesha areas.