Check and double-check. That's the philosophy in Washington County when it comes to election results.
It is not because of accuracy problems with the vote counting. The county is hoping to eliminate any voter doubts with the results.
This year will be a big election year in battleground Wisconsin, not only with the presidential race but also a U.S. Senate race
In a Lighthouse Report, Charles Benson looked at the county's plan and what it means for voters. If you like starting the day with a good cup of coffee, Latitudes in Germantown is the place to be.
If you want to get a good conversation going — as we did — just ask caffeine lovers about election integrity.
"To me, in my mind, it should be integrity for both sides," Mike Knetsch said.
He's now retired from Harley-Davidson and lives in Milwaukee.
Knetsch said it needs to be, "fair for everybody. Everybody has a voice to vote."
Election Integrity is a priority for Ashley Reichert. She is the elected clerk in Washington County.
This year the county will have an additional $150,000 to spend on what it calls Election Integrity.
"What's the benefit to the voter," asked TMJ4's, Charles Benson.
"This is just to make sure our elections are accurate and fair, and all votes are being counted accurately on Election Day," said Reichert.
How the funds are divided:
West Bend and Germantwn have an option of $60,000 for West Bend and Germantown to count absentee ballots at polling places instead of a central count location.
Municipalities will have the option of $40,000 to expand early voting hours and hire more poll workers.
There is $15,000 available for a post-county-wide audit of results in the presidential and us senate races.
An additional $6,700 is available for random voluntary audits on election night.
The remaining funds will be divided to cover additional expenses.
Why the audits?
"We have heard concerns from our constituents about our voting equipment and we want to reiterate they are functioning properly and restore that confidence for those individuals," said Reichert.
Washington County uses Dominion Voting System machines to count results.
Dominion came under false attacks in the 2020 presidential race when former president Trump and other key Republicans incorrectly claimed in other states the machines were not accurate.
It's not the first time Washington County — a solid voting block for Republicans — has double-checked election results.
The county did hand recounts in 2022 for the governor's and US Senate races.
"We actually counted vote totals for each candidate at the county level for those races," said Reichert.
The county streamed the audit process on YouTube.
It took two and half days for election inspectors and local clerks to go through all 74 thousand ballots.
They had their nearly identical results after $9,300 in expenses.
"There was a vote change of I believe two," said Reichert. "And that was due to human error."
"What does that say about the system," asked Benson.
"That our elections in Washington County are safe and secure and accurately counted," Reichert said.
She stresses the post-election voluntary audit will only happen if another recount is not requested by a candidate or campaign.
County Executive Josh Schoemann believes recounting is money well spent.
Schoemann thinks voter reforms are needed statewide — but for now he can only focus on voter confidence in his county.
Benson asked the County Executive, "Do you think you need to spend money to reinforce something that is working?"
"The answer to your question is, yes, 100%. I think it's necessary," Schoemann said. "We've seen, even in the worst scenarios, massive protests regarding election results. I think to mitigate that, just show that the computers, the machines, are doing their job and give people that confidence through an audit process."
Knetsch said voter confidence is key on Election Day. "I feel there are people overseeing the system to make sure my vote is in there and it counts."
Are Wisconsin Republicans more skeptical and less confident about votes cast and counted in the 2020 presidential election?
The Marquette Law School poll has repeatedly asked that question since the election about confidence in the presidential results.
The poll found about 60% of Republicans are not too or not at all confident compared to nearly 80% of Democrats who are very confident.
The Wisconsin Election Commission also does a hand-counted audit after general elections. It randomly selects reporting units that cover 10% of the state on a variety of races.
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