As we turn the corner into October, we’ll be sharing the final slate of our 2024 State Election Administration reports. Up today: Wisconsin, which has the most decentralized system of election administration of any state in the nation.
Wisconsin Report | One-Pager Summary | Wisconsin Google Calendar
Wisconsin’s election processes are firmly grounded in state statute. The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) — the state’s election oversight body — provides manuals, guidance, and advisory opinions governing all aspects of the election administration process. Wisconsin also has protections in place to safeguard against election officials seeking to undermine or delay election results by refusing to carry out or delaying canvassing and certification processes.
You can find more details about each process in the post-vote period here, including tabulation, certification, and recounts.
Because of the clarity of Wisconsin’s state law, there are very few inherent vulnerabilities in the state’s election processes. Vulnerabilities that do exist are largely due to state officials and organizations perpetuating election conspiracies, spreading distrust in election administration, and who may attempt to thwart state law. In particular, the WEC — a nonpartisan body — has become a top target for those seeking to politicize election administration and perpetuate conspiracies related to the 2020 election. Though the WEC generally has functioned well, election deniers and the Wisconsin state legislature alike have sought to undermine the agency’s authority and question its legitimacy. In addition, the election denial movement in the state led to the passage of two ballot proposals this year restricting election administration.
Read a full analysis of potential vulnerabilities here, including high turnover among election officials and the role of hand-counting in small jurisdictions.
In reviewing 210 Wisconsin election officials — County Clerks and members of County Boards of Canvassers — we identified 15 officials in 15 counties (7%) with concerning anti-democracy findings in their background. However, we were encouraged to see there were a number of County Clerks across the political spectrum who were defending the fairness of elections in the state.
Read a full analysis of these findings, including notable counties of concern, here. See the full database of election officials here.
One of the best ways to ensure Wisconsin elections reflect the will of the voters is to monitor what should be happening and when during the post-vote period. Our report has a timeline to help you track these steps. You can also subscribe to a Google Calendar to get these key dates on your own calendar.
2024 Vote Counting and Certification Reports
You can access our other state reports, one-pagers, and Google calendars here, as well as below:
Arizona Report | One-Pager Summary | Arizona Google Calendar
Georgia Report | One-Pager Summary | Georgia Google Calendar
Michigan Report | One-Pager Summary | Michigan Google Calendar
Pennsylvania Report | One-Pager Summary | Pennsylvania Google Calendar
If you're a reporter with questions about the upcoming elections across any of these states or want to schedule a briefing with your newsroom, please email Ryan Thomas at ryan@zpstrategies.com.