Breaking Overnight: 5 of 9 USB Drives Were Missing All Election Results in Blue Stronghold Milwaukee
During the Milwaukee primaries, election results were delayed due to a human error involving USB drives used to transfer election data. Out of nine drives, five contained only audit logs instead of election results, leading to a delay of about an hour. Election officials returned to process the ballots again and compare results to ensure accuracy. Despite the hiccup, officials stated there were no machine malfunctions, and the process was transparent. The incident has sparked discussions on election security and the need for improved procedures. In the primary, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Crowley narrowly defeated Francesca Hong in the Democratic gubernatorial race.
With election officials insisting there was nothing really seriously wrong, results in Tuesday’s primaries in Milwaukee were delayed by what was labeled “human error.”
Milwaukee Election Commissioner Paulina Gutierrez said that when she arrived at the Milwaukee County Courthouse to hand off about 28,000 absentee ballots, five of nine USB drives she brought with her contained the wrong data.
Election audit logs, not ballot results, were on the drives, she said, according to Urban Milwaukee.
The mistake was “human error,” Gutierrez said.
Milwaukee says due to human error, 5 out of 9 USBs were missing election results. Oops! pic.twitter.com/cLFRALff5p
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 12, 2026
“All of this was done in the public sphere. It was a matter of the wrong button being pressed,” she said.
She said there were no issues with the machines, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Election officials made a trip back to the central location where absentee ballots were processed to get the correct results.
“We’re going to reprint and start the process so that we can compare those results,” she said.
Milwaukee, again. 5 of 9 USB drives arrived with audit logs, not results. 15,000 ballots in limbo. “Wrong button.”
Same song, apparently infinite verses.
The 👏 processes 👏 of 👏 our 👏 elections 👏 are 👏 broken.
We’ve had hearings, statements, task forces. Everything except…
— True the Vote (@TrueTheVote) August 12, 2026
Once that is done, the re-downloaded results will be sent back to the Milwaukee County Election Commission at the county courthouse.
Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson estimated the issue delayed the ballot count by an hour.
“Elections are a bedrock of democracy. The City of Milwaukee’s highest priority during an election is the accuracy of our vote count,” Nick DeSiato, chief of staff for Mayor Cavalier Johnson, said in a statement.
“The Milwaukee Election Commission has been and will continue to be transparent with its processes. This also serves as a timely reminder that our state Legislature needs to revisit the ability to early process absentee votes,” he said.
WAIT….WHAT 🚨
Just in case you’re wondering… this specific glitch has never happened in Milwaukee County
Hong had a slight lead on Crowley.. (THEN)
Officials discovered ” HUMAN ERROR ” five of the (9) memory sticks contained audit logs, instead of election results… pic.twitter.com/eJn4KThIc0
— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) August 12, 2026
“There are also many layers to election security and accountability to ensure that the vote count is accurate,” he said.
In the Democratic primary for governor, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly defeated progressive Francesca Hong, according to CNN.
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