By james art The Madison Clerk’s Office and the University of Wisconsin-Madison moved early in-person voting to a larger room in the Memorial Union after an error in software for the whole country and high early voter turnout caused queues up to two hours long.
District 8 Ald. MGR Govindarajan told The Daily Cardinal that 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.
The Union South polling place has temporarily moved near the art galleries because of Friday’s homecoming festivities and will return to the second floor near the theater, Govindarajan said.
Due to “higher than expected voter turnout,” the WisVote server used by clerks across the state backward and caused an error in the printing of labels that are placed on ballot envelopes, according to the Wisconsin Board of Elections.
“It usually takes two seconds to print these labels, which are necessary for ballot accuracy, and it just takes a lot longer than that,” said Madison Communications Manager Dylan Brogan. “That’s really the main driver [of long wait times].”
now officials at the state level reboot the system every few hours and it runs faster, WEC Chairman Anne Jacobs said in a statement on Twitter.
“Wisconsin is keeping us updated and doing everything they can to alleviate the problem,” Brogan said. “And we wish that didn’t happen.”
Govindarajan said he expects 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 should not be moved to the market-closet area. I don’t really know what to call this area, but you can replace the closet with whatever it’s called,” Govindarajan said.
Brogan said 4,328 absentee ballots were cast Friday in Madison, the highest number at this point in the election cycle and nearly double what was expected at this point in the election.
The WEC reported the U.S 40% increase for voting in person compared to the same period of 2020.
Poll workers work late into the night to register ballots because 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 has been cast.
Enjoying what you read? Get content from The Daily Cardinal delivered to your inbox
Despite the delays, the record high early voting reflected students’ eagerness to have their voices heard at the polls, Govindarajan said.
“We asked if people [on Library Mall] they 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’re going to vote on election day,” Govindarajan said. “There aren’t many people who say they don’t plan to vote.”
Early voting in person began on Tuesday and will continue until the Sunday before Election Day. Madison residents can vote anywhere polling place throughout the cityincluding Memorial Union, Union South, many Madison libraries or community centers.
The Daily Cardinal has covered the University and the Madison community since 1892. Please consider a donation today.
Mary Bosch is a photo editor for The Daily Cardinal and a first-year journalism student. She has covered numerous stories on university sustainability efforts and has written for state and city news. Follow her on Twitter: @Mary_Bosch6
Noah Goldhaber is the college news editor and former managing editor of The Daily Cardinal. She majored in statistics and journalism and has specialized in 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 Cardinal on a number of stories. Follow her on Twitter at @noegoldhaber.