BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – Despite the number of poll workers plummeting due to concerns over the possible spread of COVID-19, most communities were able to handle in-person voting fairly well.
“The only municipality that we got any calls or complaints on was the City of Green Bay. Everyone else’s elections seemed to be going smoothly,” Brown County Clerk Sandy Juno says, “We were hearing sometimes 2-3 hours of waiting in line.”
Green Bay only had two of their typical 31 polling locations open. Some listeners reported to WTAQ News that they spent upwards of three hours, and close to four hours waiting in line on Tuesday. But those who were able to get in line before 8:00 p.m. were in luck.
“When closing the polls at 8:00 p.m., a poll worker goes and stands in line after the last person in line. Then noone else can join the line afterwards,” Juno says, “But they cannot close the polls until all of the people in line at 8:00 p.m. have voted.”
And while the long waits, concerns over COVID-19, and voters decked out in protective gear might have been bizarre – the day of in-person voting and events leading up to it aren’t the only oddities of this spring election.
“Normally we would get the results coming in, but we won’t have any of that. They won’t be running any tapes, so there will be no information on any contests available,” Juno says.
A federal judge ordered all results held until April 13th so the record-number of absentee ballots could be appropriately counted.
That means municipal canvassers can’t start their process until the results are released around 4:00 p.m. on April 13th. The county has to wait until those canvasses are complete to start their process, which would usually start this Thursday.
“If we get what we need to begin on the 14th, we would do that. But my guess is that most of it won’t be canvassed until the 15th. But we need to have our certification to the state by the 17th. So we’re on a very short timeline,” Juno says.
Over 1 million absentee ballots were reported mailed out ahead of the election, but many people report never receiving them – and having to vote in-person anyways. There was also an online absentee e-mail voting option provided by the county.
