{"id":2652109,"date":"2026-08-31T08:03:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T12:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwisconsin-commission-takes-up-screwy-milwaukee-elections-debacle\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T08:07:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T12:07:27","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwisconsin-commission-takes-up-screwy-milwaukee-elections-debacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwisconsin-commission-takes-up-screwy-milwaukee-elections-debacle\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Commission Takes Up &#8216;Screwy&#8217; Milwaukee Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwisconsin-commission-takes-up-screwy-milwaukee-elections-debacle%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2652109&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The vice chairman of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, bob Spindell, expressed concern over irregularities in Milwaukee&#8217;s election governance, calling for an investigation into recent issues. The primary incident involved delays during vote counting, attributed to human error when election workers mishandled data files, though officials claimed the integrity of results remained intact. Spindell questioned the lack of transparency, especially regarding the hour-long ballot count stall, and highlighted past problems such as machine security breaches and secretive procedures that triggered skepticism about election integrity. Notably, Milwaukee&#8217;s election offices have a history of mishandling absentee ballots and obstructing observer access, reminiscent of controversies from previous election cycles. The Wisconsin Elections Commission is also scrutinizing recent election irregularities in Green Bay and madison, including the resignation of officials over ballot mishandling. concerns persist about accountability and transparency in Wisconsin&#8217;s election processes, especially in democratic-led cities, amid ongoing allegations of errors and mismanagement.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The vice chairman of the Wisconsin Elections Commission says there\u2019s something not right in Milwaukee election administration, and it\u2019s past time to get to the bottom of it. <\/p>\n<p>Bob Spindell, a Republican appointee on the bipartisan commission, has called for an investigation into the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/12\/crowley-stuns-in-wisconsin-beating-favored-socialist-in-dem-governor-primary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">late-night absentee ballot debacle<\/a> in a blue city that has routinely been at the center of state \u2014 and national \u2014 election scandal for years. <\/p>\n<p>The commission is expected to discuss the primary night \u201cerror,\u201d and could take action, at a <a href=\"https:\/\/elections.wi.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/F.%20Discussion%20and%20Possible%20Action%20re%20Milwaukee_0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">special meeting<\/a> beginning at 9 a.m. Monday morning. It also plans to determine whether Green Bay\u2019s incompetent former city clerk broke state election law after her office once again sent out duplicate absentee ballots. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018We Need to Have an Investigation\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The Milwaukee Election Commission apparently has completed its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/wisconsin\/article_ecb53be5-07fb-4cd2-aeee-e279da6e14fd.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in-house review<\/a> of what happened during this month\u2019s Wisconsin primary elections, when the final count of some 27,000 ballots <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/17\/milwaukees-latest-election-mess-is-all-just-a-little-bit-of-history-repeating\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stalled<\/a> for about an hour. When the tally finally came in, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley was announced the winner of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin\u2019s gubernatorial primary. Crowley squeezed out the narrow victory over state Rep. Francesca Hong, a Madison Marxist just slightly farther left than the Milwaukee County executive. <\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox6now.com\/news\/milwaukee-election-commission-details-error-during-august-primary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> to WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe (in which she incorrectly spells Wolfe\u2019s first name), Milwaukee Election Commission executive director Paulina Gutierrez again claims that human error was the cause of the glitch. Election workers downloaded audit log files instead of election results on to five of nine data sticks. <\/p>\n<p>While the \u201cerror\u201d delayed the count, Gutierrez insists it did not \u201caffect the security, tabulation, or accuracy of the election results, nor did the error prevent or impede any voter from casting a ballot,\u201d according to the letter, obtained by Fox 6 News. <\/p>\n<p>The letter notes \u201ccorrective actions\u201d Milwaukee election officials will take before November\u2019s general election. Gutierrez then seems to lament about the \u201cbroader environment in which election officials and election workers\u201d perform their work. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMistakes can quickly become the basis for misinformation or unfounded allegations about election integrity,\u201d she opines. \u201cThat reality makes transparency, accuracy and strong procedures even more important.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a curious comment to make for the embattled director of a Democrat-controlled election office that has frequently failed to deliver all of the above. <\/p>\n<p>Bob Spindell, vice chairman of the Wisconsin Election Commission, has grown tired of the \u201cerrors\u201d that have frequently plagued the state\u2019s largest city\u2019s election office. He immediately called for his commission to investigate the primary night mishap. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s something that\u2019s not right and we need to have an investigation to take a look and see if everything is all right,\u201d Spindell said in a recent interview with The Federalist. <\/p>\n<p>He wants to know exactly what Milwaukee election officials were doing in the hour that the ballot count stalled. The city <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2026\/08\/13\/photos-capture-the-milwaukee-election-night-download-error\/91291972007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> had transported its absentee ballots on the USB flash drives to the Milwaukee County Courthouse, where the Milwaukee County Election Commission was operating, before announcing the \u201chuman error\u201d to the public. <\/p>\n<p>Oops. Somebody pushed the wrong button, Gutierrez told the press. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of the observers had gone home, all the poll workers had gone home,\u201d Spindell said. \u201cThat\u2019s another thing people have brought up to me is, \u2018What happened during that hour?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018All Sorts of Screwy Stuff\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Spindell, who is one of three Republicans on the six-member Elections Commission, served as a Milwaukee election commissioner for nearly 20 years. He says over the last two election cycles in particular \u201cthere\u2019s been all sorts of screwy stuff,\u201d and it begins with a lack of transparency.<\/p>\n<p>In the 2024 presidential election, Milwaukee\u2019s vote count was mired in tabulation machine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox6now.com\/news\/milwaukee-tabulator-issue-ballot-recount-110524\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">security breaches<\/a> and other election integrity issues, as The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/20\/hovdes-right-troubling-issues-dogged-milwaukee-on-election-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">investigated<\/a>. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., concluded that Milwaukee election administration was as <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/08\/a-real-mess-milwaukee-again-delivers-an-election-night-debacle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cgrossly incompetent\u201d<\/a> as he\u2019s ever seen.<\/p>\n<p>Said incompetence \u2014 \u201chuman error\u201d \u2014 put the counting of some 108,000 absentee ballots well behind schedule on Election Day following the discovery that 13 ballot tabulators were not secured, apparently necessitating the recount of more than 30,000 absentee ballots.  <\/p>\n<p>Spindell said the election security fiasco was \u201cunheard of\u201d at the time. He noted the black curtain that Milwaukee elections officials used to shroud the central count ballot tabulation area. Observers could see absentee ballots arriving from drop boxes positioned around Milwaukee, but once inside the black curtain observation was impossible. Gutierrez and crew offered only vague explanations, that the curtain was necessary for \u201chealth and safety reasons,\u201d the MacIver Institute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maciverinstitute.com\/perspectives\/wec-rejects-staff-call-for-greater-transparency-at-milwaukee-central-count\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Lack of transparency continues right now after Nov. 2024 Mil Cent Count\u2019s \u201cBlack Curtain Secret Room\u201d w\/ Nov election results not reported until 4:25AM. With very close &#038; contentious elec watching Wis Voters \/Observers are extremely concerned about what is or will be going on<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bob Spindell (@BobSpindell) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BobSpindell\/status\/1907221874406302146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>When the smoke cleared, Milwaukee delivered the votes incumbent Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a far-left Democrat from Madison, needed to win a narrow statewide election. <\/p>\n<p>In the 2025 state Supreme Court election, city election officials <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/28\/sources-milwaukee-officials-handle-ballots-in-secret-back-rooms-with-no-observer-access\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blocked windows<\/a> to the \u201cSecure Ballot Room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOfficials blocked one window with stacked mail bins; officials covered the other with a poster and sprayed it with frosted paint,\u201d MacIver <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maciverinstitute.com\/perspectives\/wec-rejects-staff-call-for-greater-transparency-at-milwaukee-central-count\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p> 2024 was strangely reminiscent of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Rigged-Media-Democrats-Seized-Elections-ebook\/dp\/B09418CTHF\/ref=books_amazonstores_desktop_mfs_author_smart_catalog_unrecognized_0?_encoding=UTF8&#038;pd_rd_w=alcSJ&#038;content-id=amzn1.sym.47218010-ccda-4098-a91e-bc39e6d446f4&#038;pf_rd_p=47218010-ccda-4098-a91e-bc39e6d446f4&#038;pf_rd_r=147-4800540-9006824&#038;pd_rd_wg=CVH7i&#038;pd_rd_r=95ba7f93-0d2c-4755-9a17-e27bef3ca517\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rigged<\/a> 2020 presidential election, when Milwaukee came through <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/08\/shady-milwaukee-elections-chief-ousted-six-months-before-election-but-will-her-successor-be-worse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">late<\/a> with enough votes for Joe Biden to claim victory over President Donald Trump in battleground Wisconsin. <\/p>\n<p>Spindell says Milwaukee\u2019s latest election administration screw-up was even worse than the incidents of duplicate ballots sent to hundreds of voters in <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/16\/unconscionable-result-former-wi-city-clerk-under-fire-in-ballot-debacle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Madison<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/10\/notorious-wisconsin-election-official-at-center-of-zuckbucks-scandal-resigns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Green Bay<\/a>. Worse, the WEC official asserts, than the Madison City Clerk\u2019s office <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/16\/clerk-in-wisconsins-leftist-capital-city-resigns-amid-uncounted-ballot-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">failing to count<\/a> nearly 200 absentee ballots in the 2024 general election. <\/p>\n<h2>Little Accountability <\/h2>\n<p>The Wisconsin Elections Commission also is expected to take up the latest election mess in leftist-led Green Bay. <\/p>\n<p>City Clerk <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Celestine_Jeffreys\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Celestine Jeffreys<\/a> resigned earlier this month amid the WEC\u2019s investigation into why Jeffreys\u2019 office mailed out an unspecified number of absentee ballots to voters in several Green Bay wards \u2014\u00a0in advance of the August primary. <\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/13\/notorious-wisconsin-clerk-faces-state-investigation-again-for-election-integrity-mess\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> last month, the bungling clerk\u2019s latest miscue occurred less than three months after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/notorious-wisconsin-clerk-faces-state-investigation-again-for-election-integrity-mess\/\" title=\"WI Clerk Faces Investigation Again For ... Mess\">office issued duplicate absentee ballots \u201c<\/a>in at least 152 instances\u201d before the city\u2019s spring elections, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/07\/zuckbucks-cities-ballot-blunders-hit-badger-state-election-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> a complaint filed by the Republican Party of Wisconsin and Brown County GOP board member Theresa Sipes.\u00a0Jeffreys has a nearly six-year history of election law violations and election integrity abuses. <\/p>\n<p>On Monday, the Elections Commission will decide whether Jeffreys again has violated the law and abused her discretion, according to a staff <a href=\"https:\/\/elections.wi.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/E.%20Discussion%20and%20Possible%20Action%20re%20Green%20Bay.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">memo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>WEC has done little to hold election officials in the state\u2019s Democrat-led cities accountable for their many \u201chuman errors\u201d over the past several years. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wisconsin election official urges probe into Milwaukee issues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2652110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-31-at-12.30.44-AM-1024x577.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[6571,7674,4124],"class_list":["post-2652109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-elections","tag-milwaukee","tag-wisconsin"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-31-at-12.30.44-AM-1024x577.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2652109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2652109"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2652109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2652115,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2652109\/revisions\/2652115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2652110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2652109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2652109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2652109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}