The Madison Clerk's Office and the University of Wisconsin-Madison moved early in-person voting to a larger room at Memorial Union after an error in statewide software and high early voter turnout caused lines as long as two hours.
District 8 Ald. MGR Govindarajan told The Daily Cardinal the Memorial Union voting room moved from a smaller room near the Rathskeller to Tripp Commons on Friday and will move to the Main Lounge during early voting next week.
Union South’s voting location temporarily moved to near the art galleries because of homecoming celebrations Friday and will return to the second floor near the theater, Govindarajan said.
Because of “higher than expected turnout,” the WisVote server used by clerks across the state lagged and caused an error with printing labels that go on ballot envelopes, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
“Normally it takes two seconds to print out these labels that are needed for the ballots for accuracy, and it's just taking a lot longer than that,” Madison Communications Manager Dylan Brogan said. “That's really the primary driver [of long wait times].”
Now, state-level clerks are restarting the system every few hours, and it’s running faster, WEC Chair Ann Jacobs said in a statement on Twitter.
“Wisconsin is updating us and doing everything they can to alleviate the problem,” Brogan said. “We wish it wasn't happening either.”
Govindarajan said he anticipated wait times to be shorter because of the room change at Memorial Union.
“I think for future elections, Tripp Commons should be the default area. Voting shouldn't be relegated to the area by the market — the closet. I don't really know what to call that area, but you can substitute closet for whatever it's called,” Govindarajan said.
4,776 in-person absentee ballots were cast Friday across Madison, which Brogan said is the highest number at this point in the election cycle and almost double what is expected at this point in the election.
The WEC reported a statewide 40% increase for in-person absentee voting compared to the same period in 2020.
Poll workers have been working late hours into the night to register ballots as the system is more efficient at that time, Brogan said. They are working to update records as quickly as possible so voters can ensure their vote was cast.
Despite the delays, record-high early voting reflects students' eagerness to have their voices heard at the ballot box, Govindarajan said.
“We were asking if people [on Library Mall] have a plan to vote, and a lot of people are saying they've already voted, they're going to vote right now, or they'll be voting on Election Day,” Govindarajan said. “There's not many people saying they don't have a plan to vote.”
Early in-person absentee voting started on Tuesday and will continue until the Sunday before Election Day. Madison residents can vote at any voting location across the city, including Memorial Union, Union South, many Madison libraries or community centers.
Mary Bosch is the photo editor for The Daily Cardinal and a first year journalism student. She has covered multiple stories about university sustainability efforts, and has written for state and city news. Follow her on twitter: @Mary_Bosch6
Noe Goldhaber is the college news editor and former copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She is a Statistics and Journalism major and has specialized on a wide range of campus topics including protests, campus labor, student housing, free speech and campus administration. She has done data analysis and visualization for the Cardinal on a number of stories. Follow her on Twitter at @noegoldhaber.
