Early In-Person Voting Opens Tuesday; County Braces For Line Confusion
With 8,000 ballots printed and 340 poll workers trained, officials say the real test is whether voters can stand in line without complaining.
WAUKESHA — Early in-person voting opens Tuesday at the county clerk's office, and officials say the ballots, the poll workers and the federal observer paperwork are all ready. Whether the voters are ready for each other is a separate question.
The county has printed 8,000 ballots ahead of what it's calling record-breaking turnout for the 37-item November ballot, first flagged by this paper last week as the longest in recent memory. Clerk's office spokesperson Carol Resch said preparation has gone smoothly on every front she can control.
"We've trained 340 poll workers, printed 8,000 ballots, and briefed everyone on federal observer protocols. But will people stand in lines without complaining? That's the unknown."
— Carol Resch, county clerk's office spokesperson
340 Poll Workers, One Shared Fear
The training sessions ran four nights last week at the county courthouse annex, covering ballot-marking devices, provisional ballot envelopes, and what to do if a line wraps around the building before 8 a.m. Poll worker Donna Prusak, 58, who will be stationed at a check-in table Tuesday, said the content was thorough but the civility section felt thin.
Prusak said she and two other workers at her table have independently proposed posting laminated behavior reminders modeled on kindergarten classroom rules: one voice at a time, keep your hands to yourself, wait your turn. The idea has not been formally approved, but Prusak said she printed three copies anyway and left them in her car.
"I'm not saying adults need a poster that says 'use your walking feet.' I'm saying I printed one, and it's in my glovebox, and we'll see."
— Donna Prusak, poll worker
Observers Get Their Own Briefing
New federal guidance on poll observers prompted a separate 45-minute session for site supervisors, covering where observers may stand, what they may photograph, and how far back the designated observation zone must be taped off at each location. The county marked the zones with the same yellow tape used for road construction, which Resch acknowledged has already confused two supervisors into thinking a curb was closed.
Resch said the office fielded eleven calls Monday asking whether the observer rules applied to spouses who simply wanted to wait for someone filling out a ballot. The answer, in every case, was no, but Resch said the office plans to post a one-page explainer at each site by Tuesday morning.
The Line Itself
Ned England, 70, of Backslide Way, said he plans to vote first thing Tuesday and film the experience for his YouTube channel, Nedventuresout, which currently has 420 subscribers. England said his main concern isn't the ballot length but finding parking downtown, given the one-way grid that flips direction block to block near the courthouse.
England said he's allotting an extra 20 minutes for the drive alone, on top of whatever the line requires, and plans to park on the south side near Newhall Avenue to avoid the possibility of getting stuck at the Broadway rail crossing if a freight train happens to stop on the tracks.
County officials said anyone anticipating long lines should bring water, a folding chair if needed, and, per Prusak's unofficial recommendation, their walking feet.