(Photo: Andrew Beckett)
State election officials say the majority of the provisional ballots cast in this month’s election due to photo ID issues were likely not counted.
Of the 750 provisional ballots cast November 8th, the Wisconsin Elections Commission says 618 were because the voter did not have an acceptable photo ID under state law.
While final numbers are not available, the agency says they know 116 were counted, 278 were rejected, and 224 have not had their status updated. The commission also notes a total of 399 provisional ballots were marked as “deadline expired,” which is a indication they were not counted after Election Day.
The election earlier this month was the first time Wisconsin’s voter ID requirement was in effect for a presidential contest. Critics of the law argued as many as 300,000 eligible voters in the state may not have a valid ID for voting.