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BIRNAMWOOD, WI (WSAU) — More than 100 voters received incorrect ballots in the Village of Birnamwood on Election Day, according to a statement from the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
Chair Ann Jacobs says the Village, which straddles Marathon and Shawano Counties, consists of two wards. Voters in Ward One are on the Shawano County side. Ward Two contains all voters on the Marathon County side.
Because of that split, the Village is also in two Congressional Districts. Those on the Marathon County side are in the 7th Congressional District; those on the Shawano County side are 8th District residents.
“On Election Day, a poll worker used a Ward Two ballot for voters who resided in Ward One,” said Jacobs. “One hundred and five voters in Ward One, Shawano County and Congressional District Eight, were incorrectly issued a Ward Two Ballot.”
By the time the mix-up was discovered, a total of 117 ballots had been issued. An investigation showed that 12 of those ballots were correctly issued.
That means those 105 voters were also given the opportunity to vote in Marathon County races including District Attorney, Clerk, Treasurer, and Register of Deeds; all uncontested races. Marathon County Canvassers decided to subtract those vote totals but did count votes in other state and federal races including President, US Senate, and the statewide referendum question regarding voter eligibility because those races appeared on all ballots.
The votes were tossed out because Wisconsin ballots are secret, meaning it would be impossible to tell which of the 117 votes in question were made by the 12 eligible voters.
Jacobson spoke after the Commission met to canvass all statewide results last Friday. She also noted that the 105 votes would not have changed the results in either congressional race.
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