WRN file photo
UPDATE: The Government Accountability Board said Friday afternoon that all systems were back up and running as normal. The agency said it is continuing to work with the Department of Administration to watch for any additional problems that may surface.
Wisconsin election officials say problems with state servers are causing problems for local clerks across the state, as they work to print poll books and process in-person absentee ballots for next Tuesday’s election.
The Government Accountability Board said “technical difficulties” that began at about 8:30 Friday morning are affecting several systems, including WisVote – the voter registration and election management system that local clerks use to issue absentee ballots and process voters registrations. A release from the agency says the Department of Administration is working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Elections Division Administrator Mike Haas says voters are still able to obtain and cast ballots, despite the server issues.
The issue comes on the final day of in-person absentee voting in the state. The GAB says there’s been a strong interest in absentee voting for the April 5 election, with about 172,000 ballots issued by clerks as of Thursday. The number is a big jump from the 2012 presidential preference primary, when only about 95,000 ballots were requested.
For those mailing ballots in, the deadline to have them back in to clerks is Tuesday, April 5.