LETTER: Report finds election was well run amid pandemic and strife

To Ozaukee Press:

After major issues arose during the April 2020 primary, election officials, clerks, poll workers, advocates and voters united to make the November 2020 election extremely successful, according to the 2020 Presidential Election Report by Wisconsin Election Protection and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.

In preparation for the 2020 fall elections, elections officials and clerks made many improvements in the system, including the Wisconsin Election Commission establishing a system allowing voters to track their absentee ballots, and many more clerks accepting returned mail ballots via drop boxes throughout the state.  

These improvements were hugely popular among Wisconsin voters, and the state saw a record breaking turnout of nearly 3.3 million voters. Additionally, 41% of total votes were cast through absentee by mail ballot, at a higher success rate than in April. The rejection rate of absentee ballots plummeted from 1.8% in the April election to 0.2% in the November election.

For those who voted on election day, clerks sought to provide adequately staffed and protective polling places, and to a great extent succeeded. Despite fears of election day disruption, most voters who chose to vote in person were able to do so without fear or intimidation.

Greater preparation and more personnel were also key to better navigating the complications of holding an election during a pandemic. Following a drop in the number of poll workers in April, the November elections saw an increase in the number of people who signed up to work the polls. Elections staff were well equipped to answer voters’ questions about voting by mail.

While the report includes recommendations for improvements that can be made, those must build upon the positive changes that were developed last year.

We need to keep moving forward to allow deep and broad voter participation. We strongly oppose efforts to restrict voter participation, especially when many of those efforts are based upon unfounded or discredited claims of wrongdoing.

Eileen Newcomer
League of Women Voters of Wisconsin
Madison