A majority of Wisconsin voters in an exclusive Scripps News poll say they are confident all the votes will be counted accurately but three out of ten have doubts.
How confident are you that all votes will be accurately counted? 62% were very or somewhat confident and 30% were not very or not all confident.
The 2020 presidential election results in Wisconsin produced legal challenges and lots of misinformation - but in the end, through recounts, court reviews, and audits the outcome proved to be fair and accurate.
In a Lighthouse report, TMJ4's Chief Political Reporter Charles Benson asked the state's top elections official Meagan Wolfe about her expectations for 2024.
As the state's chief election official, Meagan Wolfe knows what it is like to be at the center of a political storm over presidential election results.
She's making sure there's not another one in 2024.
Watch: 'We are ready': Wisconsin's top election's official talks 2024 election
Benson: How prepared are you for this presidential election?
Wolfe: So, the state of Wisconsin, we are ready as election administrators to administer a very well-run election with accuracy, with integrity.
Part of that process means using the state's electionwebsite to knock down misinformation and to fact-check claims.
"I think it's important as election officials that when we see something that's trending, that's gaining traction, that may actually sway somebody's behavior, that we put out correct information," said Wolfe.
It also includes preparing 72 county clerks, 1850 local clerks, and thousands of poll workers across the state.
"There are almost 40,000 poll workersneeded to run in the November general election," Wolfe said. "And so that's a lot of your neighbors, a lot of your friends that are volunteering their time to be a part of the process."
Changes in 2024 include fewer drop boxes. Less than 80 compared to more than 500 in 2020.
The current state Supreme Court reversed a previous court decision that now allows drop boxes but it's up to each municipality to decide to have them.
New absentee ballot certificate envelopes. A two-year redesign process to make sure the voter and a required witness fill them out correctly.
Benson: How do you make sure that the state did its job, and the numbers are accurate?
Wolfe: There are multiple checks on the numbers of the election.
Results are first checked by local clerks, do the number of ballots cast match the number of voters, then the county double-checks the results before the state reviews them to certify the election.
After the election - the state randomly selects 10% of all reporting units to see if a hand count matches the electronic voting results.
"There'll be four races that are selected as part of that audit, and so yes, they'll examine a variety of contests, including the presidential race," said Wolfe.
A majority of Wisconsin voters in the Scripps News Ipsos Poll, 77%, appear ready to accept the results if their preferred candidate loses.
However, if their candidate loses, 51% say they should challenge those results legally and accept court rulings.
The poll included 328 Wisconsin voters between October 18-20 with a +/- 6% margin of error.
Find out where to vote, what's on your ballot, and much more on TMJ4's elections page here.
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