County executive won’t give
more ballots to Milwaukee

Milwaukee Freeman Newspapers October 14, 2004

MILWAUKEE - The county executive denied a request from the mayor to provide extra ballots for the Nov. 2 election, calling the city’s voter turnout estimates ‘‘ridiculous.’’

Mayor Tom Barrett, though, said Wednesday he was worried about having enough ballots at some polling stations, particularly those in central-city areas where voter registration drives have focused efforts.

‘‘I want to prevent a disaster. That’s the whole purpose of this,’’ Barrett said.

County Executive Scott Walker cited concerns about cost and possible voter fraud when rejecting the mayor’s request.

Walker said Wednesday the county’s election commission had agreed to provide 679,500 ballots for the city. Milwaukee reported having 382,000 registered voters and a total of 423,811 residents old enough to vote.

Barrett said the number of ballots the county had agreed to print in each ward was less than the amount prepared for the presidential election in 2000 and the gubernatorial race in 2002. Walker disputed that.

Common Council President Willie Hines Jr. said Walker’s ballot rejection was an attempt to suppress Democratic voters in the central city. He called it ‘‘an attack on the city of Milwaukee.’’

Walker, a Republican, said the city had not told him why it requested 938,000 ballots, and the county had approved 1,000 extra ballots for 22 central wards that were expected to have higher-than-normal turnout.

Walker called the mayor’s request ‘‘such a ridiculously high number it’s hard to fathom.’’

City officials said the request was an effort to prevent a possible ballot shortage because some wards have run out in the past. They say some ballots are invariably spoiled, and voter turnout is less predictable in Wisconsin because the state allows people to register at the polls on Election Day.

Barrett, a Democrat, said the presidential race is the most hotly contested race in his lifetime.

‘‘I want to make sure that we have an election in the city of Milwaukee where there is no voter fraud and no voter suppression,’’ he said.

If a polling place would run out of ballots, Barrett said workers would photocopy more, but he worries that would cause delays and people to leave without voting.

Photocopied ballots also could delay the final count because workers must tally them by hand rather than run them through counting machines, Barrett said.

Steve Pickett, an elections specialist with the state Elections Board, said that in Milwaukee, distribution of ballots matters more than the total number. He said in one recent election, no one voted at some Milwaukee polls.

By law, the county pays for and prints the ballots, which cost about 15 or 16 cents apiece.

Barrett said the city could pay to print additional ballots, as it did when it spent $42,000 in the September primary to ensure it had enough. But he conceded the city overestimated in that election.

Walker said he is worried about the possibility of voter fraud with too many ballots floating around.

‘‘We don’t want to be known on a national basis for anything to do with elections,’’ he said, referring to the media attention on Florida after the botched 2000 presidential election.

While Barrett and Walker both hold nonpartisan offices, Walker is a state co-chairman of President Bush’s campaign, and Barrett is state co-chairman of the John Kerry campaign.

Walker said it was not a partisan fight.

Some other Wisconsin county clerks said they had no disputes about the number of ballots and did not plan to order more than in previous presidential elections.

But Dane County Clerk Joe Parisi said election officials and not politicians should make such decisions.

‘‘If the election officials feel they need a cushion, they should be given a cushion, because we should err on the side of having more than we need than not having enough,’’ Parisi said. He said Wisconsin has one of the cleanest election records in the country and concerns about voter fraud are unwarranted.

Brown County Clerk Darlene Marcelle said municipalities there will get ballots based on an average of voter turnouts in previous presidential races. But she said unlike most other counties, Brown County prints its own ballots and can ship out more within an hour or two on Election Day, if needed.

St. Croix County Clerk Cindy Campbell said she orders the number of ballots municipal clerks request.

‘‘I think that they’re the ones that know best. I go with them because they’ve worked in their municipality,’’ Campbell said.