Wisconsin election officials are pushing back on concerns about possible federal interference in next month’s midterm election, saying polling places across the state are prepared and that no unusual activity is expected.
Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said election officials expect all observers and agencies to follow state and federal law, which prohibits voter intimidation and places limits on armed federal officers at polling locations.
“All we can do is follow what the law says. And the law does not allow voter intimidation. There are federal laws that prohibit armed federal officers from being at the polls. And so we expect everything to be conducted in accordance with the law. We have not heard anything that suggests that there will be anything outside of that,” Wolfe said.
Questions about potential federal election monitoring have surfaced less than a month before Wisconsin voters head to the polls on November 3. The election will include races for governor, attorney general, congressional seats and legislative offices.
Wolfe noted that Wisconsin is no stranger to outside scrutiny during elections and said observers from various organizations and government agencies are a routine part of the process.
“I think that as a swing state and as a battleground state in elections, Wisconsin is used to having a lot of observers and attention. So having observers from congressional offices, from U.S. DOJ, this is not abnormal. This is a normal part of Wisconsin elections,” she said.
Election officials say local clerks have received training on managing observers while ensuring voters can cast ballots without interference. Wolfe added that clerks regularly prepare for a wide range of contingencies and maintain relationships with local law enforcement and legal partners.
“Clerks are prepared for planning for contingencies, for building relationships with their local law enforcement, for building relationships with their legal network to make sure that if there were anything unusual or if there were voters that were reporting feeling uncomfortable at the polling place, that they’d be able to navigate those situations,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe said she does not anticipate any unusual problems at Wisconsin polling places during this year’s election and expressed confidence that local election officials are prepared to respond if concerns arise.