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Tabulator problem had Waukesha voters choosing either to wait or leave ballots in a lockbox

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A problem with the voting tabulator at a Waukesha poll location had backed up lines and election workers running ballots. TMJ4 News heard about the issue when Jolie messaged us on Facebook to say, "The machine broke down and ballots are being put in lock boxes."

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Sharon Budiac is a voter from Brookfield.

“How long did it take you to vote today?” asked reporter Rebecca Klopf.

"Eight minutes,” answered Sharon Budiac, a voter from Brookfield.

"Probably five to ten minutes,” said Vera Dewolfe, also a Brookfield voter.

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Vera Dewolfe is a Brookfield voter.

TMJ4 News spoke to voters around Waukesha County and told us the lines at the polls have mainly been quick. But that wasn't the case earlier this morning at the National Guard Armory in Waukesha.

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Rose Lauchart (left), the chief inspection at the armory in Waukesha watches as election worker runs ballots from a locked box into the voting tabulator.

"After 85 voters put their votes in the machines, the machine started kicking them back out and the only thing we could do was call for help,” said Rose Lauchart, the chief inspector at the armory in Waukesha.

Watch: Tabulator issue had Waukesha voters choosing to wait or leave ballots in a lockbox

Tabulator problem had Waukesha voters choosing either to wait or leave ballots in a lockbox

Voters were given the choice of waiting for a technician to fix the machine or putting the ballots into a lock box where they would be run after the machine was fixed. It took about two hours before they figured out the ballot scanner just needed to be cleaned.

"Now we are working and we are putting all the ballots that we stored underneath of the people who didn't want to wait and now we are scanning them into the machine,” said Lauchart.

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Election worker holds a stack of ballots to go through the voting tabulator that came from a lock box.

While in Waukesha, we were told by the Waukesha County Clerk Meg Wartman that Menomonee Falls had a similar issue with their voting tabulator. However, since there were two tabulators at the Menomonee Falls Library there was no delay in running ballots. And voters say they got in and out.

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Menomonee Falls Library polling location where a voting tabulator did not work for a short period of time.

“Well organized, passed three people to figure out what ward I was in,” said Ryan Worthen who voted in Menomonee Falls.

“It just seems real easy and laid back today,” said Brandon Archie, a Menomonee Falls voter.

Election officials say they will make sure they don't miss running a ballot from the lockbox in Waukesha. After polls close they will be comparing the number of voters to the ballots.


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