Politics
Wisconsin's Top Election Official Calls 2026 Midterms One of the Smoothest in Her Career, Urges Action on Ballot Processing Bill
The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported no major errors in the November midterms, with chief election official Meagan Wolfe praising the work of nearly 1,800 local clerks. Officials are now pressing lawmakers to pass a bill allowing absentee ballots to be processed before Election Day, a measure that has repeatedly stalled in the Legislature.
MADISON â Wisconsin's November midterm election ran without any major errors, the state Elections Commission announced, with the state's chief election official describing it as one of the smoothest she has overseen.
Meagan Wolfe, administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said no incidents affected voters' ability to cast a ballot. Nearly 1,800 local clerks administered the election across the state, and the commission reported that fewer mail-in absentee ballots arrived late than in the spring election.
"There's often a lot of attention and focus on Wisconsin leading up to an election about what could happen," Wolfe said. "But at the end of the day, it was clear our local officials administered a top-notch election, and I am immensely proud of all of their work."
The clean bill of health comes as election officials renew their push for a so-called Monday processing bill, which would let clerks begin processing absentee ballots before Election Day. Under current law, officials cannot begin tallying ballots until polls close.
Karla Endres, the village clerk in Waunakee, said the change would help protect voters and poll workers from disruptions like the suspicious mail incidents that have occurred around the country. "You've probably all heard about incidences with white powder in mail," Endres said. "This would alleviate us from having that in the polls on election day and potentially creating a bigger incident where it would inhibit more people during that moment."
Clerks say the measure, if enacted, would also speed up the release of results on election night. The proposal has failed multiple times in the state Legislature.
The next statewide election is scheduled for April 2027, when Wisconsin voters will choose a justice to replace retiring conservative state Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler.