Editorial: You can be confident in Wisconsin election results. We have the proof.
The remarkable ritual of choosing our next leaders is well underway in Wisconsin as thousands of our neighbors have already mailed absentee ballots or stood in line for early voting in the 2024 election, one that will determine the next president and vice president as well our representatives in Congress and the state Legislature.
Millions more will head to the polls on Election Day, Nov. 5, to vote in person. Each of those ballots, consciously or not, represents a vote of confidence in the collective act of self-government, one where a majority of votes determines the outcome in a free and fair election.
Yet trust in elections has been shaken, not by any malfeasance or fundamental flaw in the system, but by the lie that Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2020. It’s part of what has been dubbed “The Big Lie,” a broad assault on the truth here and in other battleground states where Trump fell short in his bid for reelection.
Opinion: Wisconsin will vote on a referendum question Nov. 5. Like others, it's confusing.
The simple fact is Trump lost Wisconsin to Joe Biden by about 20,000 votes in 2020. The absence of widespread voter fraud or systemic errors has been affirmed by recounts, court reviews and post-election analyses by the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau and the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.
The destructive nature of the lie was evident almost immediately. Election officials were threatened, poll workers were harassed, and a mob attacked Congress to prevent the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021.
Sadly, our politics continue to be in the grip of this falsehood as Trump continues to repeat the debunked claims. Not surprisingly, according to the Gallup polling organization, “The percentage of Americans saying they are ‘not at all confident’ in the vote has steadily climbed from 6% in 2004 to 19% today.” Indeed, there is a sense of anxiety as voting has begun with rhetoric, which was already amped up, reaching dangerous levels in the waning days of the campaign.
To counter election lies, Wisconsin citizens work to reclaim the truth
Yet something remarkable, though far less visible, has been happening in the wake of this misinformation. Citizens across the state are working to reclaim the central truth that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board is affirming today:
Wisconsin has a safe, secure and robust election system. You can have confidence when you vote that the outcome will reflect the true will of voters.
Don’t take our word for it. Listen to the clerks and elected representatives, attorneys, business leaders, educators and journalists all of whom over the past months have contributed opinion pieces on this topic. Some are Democrats and some are Republicans, while others have no partisan affiliation. What they share is a belief in civil discussions, civic involvement and strengthening democracy.
We’ve collected the best examples that counter election falsehoods with facts and explain how the election process works in Wisconsin (for complete biographies of the authors and their affiliations, go to the digital version of this editorial):
? False claims about voter turnout: “Some have alleged that more votes were cast than registered voters in Wisconsin. This is not accurate. What is a fact is that 2020 turnout statewide was 72.3%. In 2004 and in 2012, turnout also exceeded 70%. Our hope is that high voter turnout continues for all elections held in Wisconsin. This is healthy for our democracy.” – Reid Ribble and Kathy Bernier, both Republicans, and former members of Congress and state Senate, respectively.
? ‘Illegal aliens’ voting: “All applicants in Wisconsin are required to affirm or verify their citizenship status under penalty of perjury — which carries potential criminal punishments and the risk of deportation — when registering to vote in federal elections. Every voter must meet requirements for eligibility and identity regardless of how they cast their vote — that includes early voting, voting by mail or Election Day voting.” — Scott McCallum and Marge Bostlemann, both Republicans, and a former governor and a current member of the Wisconsin Election Commission, respectively.
? Widespread voter fraud: “Further safeguarding the security and the accuracy of our elections, Wisconsin has a decentralized voting system, where 72 individual county clerks and 1,850 municipal clerks manage their election processes for their own community. This decentralized approach enhances transparency and significantly reduces the likelihood of widespread fraud.” — Kathy Bernier and Joseph J. Czarnezki, a Republican and Democrat, both who oversaw elections in their home counties.
? Ballot box stuffing: “Contrary to urban myth, it is not possible to change elections results by stuffing ballot boxes with pre-marked ballots. At every polling place, the number of ballots must equal the number of people shown on the statewide voter list as voting at that location. Election observers from both parties can and do verify those shown as voting on the statewide list as voting.” — Don Millis, a Republican, and chair of the Wisconsin Election Commission.
? Electronic fraud: “All votes in Wisconsin are backed up by paper documentation. Official voting recounts at the local, county and statewide level, when requested, result in very few ballots being questioned.” — Lee Rasch, Rusty Cunningham and Joe Heim, civic volunteers and ethical leadership advocates.
? Ballot security and counting: “All ballots, including mail-in ballots, are counted beginning on Election Day. Every ballot stays at the polling place until the polls close, and election observers keep an eye on this process and the ballots to ensure proper measures are being taken. A team of trained election officials never lets the ballots leave their sight as they are transported to a secure counting location. The vote count is checked and rechecked until all officials agree the final results are accurate.” — Kathy Bernier; Marge Bostelmann; Diana Dykstra; Tom Florsheim; David Haynes; David Irwin; Scott McCallum; Anoop Prakash; Kim Pytleski; Reid Ribble; Lisa Tollefson; and Meg Wartman, Wisconsin election advocates.
? Bipartisan advocacy for secure elections: “Republicans and Democrats both understand Wisconsin elections are among the safest in the nation, bolstered by the microscope we’ve been under the past four years. The protections we have in place, and more protections that continue to be discussed in the legislature, exemplify continuous improvements born out of 2020. It’s our job to point out these improvements so everyone has confidence when they cast their ballot this fall.” — Mandela Barnes, Scott Klug, Mike Tate and J.B. Van Hollen, former lieutenant governor, congressman, party chairman and state attorney general from both parties.
Trust in system stems from checks and balances to make corrections
Our trust in the system is built on the recognition that it is not error free. Any enterprise this large and complex will have instances of human error or cases where people, deliberately or not, do not follow election laws.
The simple fact is that in Wisconsin, errors are identified and corrected; and people who violate election laws are discovered and prosecuted. Cases of this are rare and none have changed the outcome of elections — or even come close.
Public scrutiny is essential to maintaining trust. Indeed, both parties identify people to be poll workers and both parties have representatives present at polling locations as observers. The action in Milwaukee’s central count location is live-streamed by the city and scads of lawyers are on-site watching for issues.
Like other media outlets, the Journal Sentinel is monitoring the election and will report on any issues that arise. If you have a tip, please send it to [email protected]. For information on how to do so securely, go to https://projects.jsonline.com/tips/.
Equally important is the need for the lies and false claims to end.
Our editorial board will be monitoring any fallout, and countering false attacks on the integrity of the process and the people behind it. We will hold accountable, Democrat or Republican alike, anyone who seeks to create a false narrative or undermine public confidence in the result.
Lies are corrosive to democracy. They lower trust and raise tempers. It would be easy to succumb to cynicism and stay home on Election Day. The best antidote is to vote your conscience while also providing a vote of confidence in democracy itself.
When you vote, do it with the knowledge Wisconsin has a strong election system run by independent officials who follow the law and want every vote to count; a system backed by thousands of trained volunteers, your friends and neighbors giving back to support democracy by serving as poll workers.
We believe in the system. You should believe in the results.
Editorials are a product of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board, which operates independently from the news department. Email: [email protected]. Why we write editorials. Meet the editorial board.
List of civic advocates for Wisconsin's voting and elections system
?Mandela Barnes, a Democrat, is the former Lt. Governor of Wisconsin. He is part of the Democracy Defense Project, a bipartisan group of former elected officials and leaders across Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin who will work to defend the transparency, safety, security and validity of our nation’s electoral system.
?Kathy Bernier, a Republican, served in the State Legislature from 2016 to 2023 and worked as Chippewa County Clerk from 1999 to 2011, overseeing elections. She is Wisconsin State Director for Keep Our Republic, a non-partisan civic education organization founded in 2020 with a focus on the threats facing our elections, and on ways to help strengthen trust in the electoral system.
?Marge Bostelmann, a Republican, is a member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission and is an Advisory Board Member for Keep Our Republic.
?Rusty Cunningham is the former publisher and editor of the La Crosse Tribune and member of LeaderEthics, a Wisconsin-based nonpartisan/nonprofit organization committed to promoting ethical leadership among elected officials.
?Joseph J. Czarnezki, a Democrat, served in State Legislature from 1981-1993 and served eight years as the County Clerk of Milwaukee County. He is an Advisory Board Member for Keep Our Republic.
?Diana Dykstra, is the Village Clerk-Treasurer of Mukwonago.
?Tom Florsheim is CEO of the Weyco Group and principal of Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy.
?David Haynes, is the former Ideas Lab editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and is co-lead of WisAct, the Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust, a cross-partisan network of Wisconsin residents that promotes trust in our political system, support for fair, safe, and secure elections, and peaceful engagement with our fellow Americans.
?Joe Heim is an emeritus professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and member of LeaderEthics.
?David Irwin is CEO of gThankYou and Principal of Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy.
?Scott Klug, a Republican, is a former member of Congress. He is a member of the Democracy Defense Project.
?Scott McCallum, a Republican, is the former governor of Wisconsin and co-lead of WisAct.
?Don Millis, a Republican, is the chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
?Anoop Prakash is executive vice president for AriensCo, and principal of Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy.
?Kim Pytleski, a Republican, is Oconto County Clerk.
?Lee Rasch is former president of Western Technical College and member of LeaderEthics.
?Reid Ribble, a Republican, is a former U.S. Congressman and Advisory Board Member for Keep Our Republic Advisory Board Member.
?Mike Tate is the former chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. He is a member of the Democracy Defense Project.
?Lisa Tollefson, a Democrat, is Rock County Clerk.
?J.B. Van Hollen, a Republican, is the former Attorney General of Wisconsin. He is a member of the Democracy Defense Project.
?Meg Wartman, a Republican, is Waukesha County Clerk.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Editorial: Wisconsin voter fraud is rare. Our elections are secure