We survived the 2024 election in true Wisconsin fashion: voter turnout at 73% with 3.4 million people casting ballot, the most in a statewide election in history. And for the second election cycle in a row, Wisconsin voters selected one Democrat and one Republican in statewide races.
Wisconsin clerks should be applauded for running an election free of any major issues and an election that saw the results reported, tabulated and called for the winner of the presidential election, Donald Trump, in the early morning hours of Nov. 6. That’s the way an election is supposed to run, we count all the ballots, and in a close race, we have an outcome that night (or early into the next morning). That’s what voters expect and that’s how elections should be conducted.
Letters to the Editor: Voter fraud is rare. We don’t need to fear imaginary late night ballot dumps.
Looking at Wisconsin’s history, we have always been selective with who we sent to the governor’s mansion or Washington on our behalf. In 2008, we elected a Democrat for President but in 2010 we elected a Republican senator and governor. Gov. Scott Walker survived three elections in a four year period and throughout that process, Wisconsin elected a Democrat to the Senate in 2012. Elections haven’t been stolen in Wisconsin, they are simply that close.
Despite an election with few serious issues, more false claims made
But now it is 2025. The time to debate what happened this cycle has passed, and while this election was conducted well, unfounded allegations of impropriety aren’t going away any time soon. We joined the Democracy Defense Project to help educate Wisconsin voters about the steps being taken to protect our elections in 2024 and will continue that work for election cycles to come.
This year, more elections are looming, including a pivotal Supreme Court race in just a few short months, questions will continue to be raised across the state and we will be there to answer.
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Unfortunately, education won’t be enough to assuage the doubts that have come up. We can talk until we are blue in the face about the expectations of late night vote swings as central count ballots are announced, but it does not change the optics that develop on election night into the early hours of the morning. The fears “vote dumps” create are compounded further by false claims of election interference or fraud. Finding ways to assuage concerns around issues like these is critical for the long term health of our election system.
Pre-processing absentee ballots and uniform drop box rules essential
It’s past time we leveled the playing field around the central issues that have cast Wisconsin elections into the spotlight. We can undercut the arguments made by election deniers with simple fixes. For example, pre-processing absentee ballots can cut down on the lag time and prevent the late night vote swings that have been the topic of much consternation for years.
Opinion: We can end doubts about Wisconsin election integrity once and for all
A step like this will minimize vote swings in the middle of the night, and help speed along the process of counting votes so we know the results hours sooner, rather than in the dead of night. Additionally, we can create a standard set of rules around drop boxes, access, and security. The decision to implement a drop boxes in their municipalities can remain up to the individual clerks, but a standard security baseline will prevent claims of fraud by establishing clear protocols to monitor and prevent tampering while giving people the access they need to make their voice heard.
We don’t have time to sit on our hands and expect people to suddenly start trusting the process. It’s time to figure out why folks continue to doubt these results and address them – starting with clearing up the confusion around how we can return our ballots. Our bipartisan board is behind reforms that make our election process more transparent, fair to every voter across the state, and accessible to every eligible voter.
Republicans and Democrats should all be in support of cleaning up our process, constantly improving, and continuing to build trust in our electoral systems. Like it or not, we have already embarked on the 2026 campaign cycle, and with the April elections already just weeks away, the spotlight is already on us once again.
Mandela Barnes, a Democrat, is the former Lt. Governor of Wisconsin; J.B. Van Hollen, a Republican, is the former Attorney General. They are part of the Democracy Defense Project, a bipartisan organization working to restore trust in our election system.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Elections haven’t been stolen in Wisconsin. They are close. | Opinion
