Poll workers sort out ballots.
State lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would have allowed election clerks to start processing absentee ballots before Election Day. Wong Maye-E/AP

Wisconsin’s Blue Cities Brace for Another Onslaught of ‘Stolen Election’ Accusations

Wisconsin state lawmakers failed to pass key changes officials say could have helped dispel misinformation and lies about the election.

State lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would have allowed election clerks to start processing absentee ballots before Election Day. Wong Maye-E/AP

MILWAUKEE – Little has changed in Wisconsin to facilitate a faster vote count since 2020, and election leaders in the state’s biggest and bluest cities — where ballots take the longest to count — are bracing for another onslaught of attacks.

Voting rights advocates and political leaders told NOTUS they’re concerned the small handful of changes the state could have made to mitigate some of the disinformation around election results didn’t happen — and those wanting to discredit elections will again weaponize anything they can.

In the wee hours of the all-night vote count in Milwaukee four years ago, Donald Trump was already laying the groundwork for the onslaught of lawsuits, personal attacks and misinformation to come.