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Wisconsin election: "Human error" delays Milwaukee count
Election officials said a "human error" caused a delay in processing Milwaukee's votes on Aug. 11.
MILWAUKEE - The director of the Milwaukee Election Commission is explaining what went wrong during August's primary election that caused a delay in the count, and what's being done to make sure it doesn't happen again.
In a letter to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, MEC Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez says five of the flash drives that were supposed to have the results instead had audit files.
Milwaukee Election Commission
The error on election night
The backstory:
While processing 27,187 absentee ballots across nine high-speed tabulators, staff transferred audit log files instead of election results files onto five secure data sticks.
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With FOX6, other local media and the bipartisan election commission watching, election workers went back and downloaded the results.
The discrepancy delayed public reporting by about one hour but did not alter vote totals, affect accuracy, or compromise election security.
Wisconsin election: "Human error" delays Milwaukee count
Election night turned into election morning, as the vote count in Milwaukee was delayed until after 1 a.m. Officials blamed human error.
Corrective actions
What we know:
The Milwaukee Election Commission says it is implementing new procedures to make sure this doesn't happen in the future. Those actions include:
- Download instructions are being updated to include screen images of each step, and redacted versions will be shared with observers.
- Staff will verbally state and confirm each selection with bipartisan team members before proceeding on the screen.
- Teams will participate in a mandatory briefing right before downloads begin to reconfirm specific roles.
- MEC will demonstrate the download process during public pre-election testing and publish audit logs, EL-104 forms, and pPrecincts processed reports online by Sep. 4, 2026.
Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez's full letter to the WEC can be read below:
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The Source: FOX6 obtained the letter from MEC Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez that was sent to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.