Commission Also Fails to Acknowledge Independent Open Records Request Submitted By Dairyland Sentinel
Wisconsin’s top election committee chair is demanding the resignation of Milwaukee’s Election Commission Executive Director if she cannot fix recurring central count failures. The lawmaker’s ultimatum was delivered as the city simultaneously ignores a public records request seeking answers for the August 11 partisan primary delays.
State Rep. Dave Maxey (R-New Berlin), who chairs the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, sent a blistering formal request for answers and accountability to Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez on Friday. The inquiry follows the August 11-12, 2026 central count mishaps, the latest in a series of errors by Milwaukee election officials. Specifically, Maxey demanded a public explanation for why and how city staff left the central count facility on election night without exporting results from five of the nine tabulators.
The error resulted in a police-escorted return trip to the facility and delayed the city’s election results by roughly 90 minutes. Maxey labeled the sequence of events “a travesty, plain and simple.”
Three Strikes for Milwaukee’s Central Count
Maxey’s letter spotlights a troubling timeline for Wisconsin’s largest central count operation. The August 11 failure marks the third major mishap in recent election cycles, following:
- A flash drive left behind during the 2020 election.
- Unlocked tabulator doors that triggered a 31,000-ballot recount in 2024.
“Three strikes is not bad luck, but rather a pattern of mismanagement,” Maxey wrote, arguing the recurring issues hand “a gift to the very people trying to convince Wisconsinites their votes don’t count”.
The GOP chair issued a 30-day deadline for Gutiérrez to answer eight specific questions regarding training failures, municipal ballot volumes, and whether she would support an independent review by the Wisconsin Elections Commission or the FBI.
If she cannot correct the recurring mistakes, Maxey stated, she should resign.
Unanswered Questions and Ignored Requests
While the Assembly demands a 30-day turnaround, the Milwaukee Election Commission has yet to even acknowledge an independent records request initiated by the Dairyland Sentinel.
On August 14, Publisher Brian Fraley submitted a formal Public Records Request to Gutiérrez’s office. The filing requested primary source materials related to the August 11 central count, including completed Inspectors’ Statements (Form EL-104) and interim forms documenting ballot reconciliation or equipment problems.
Under Wisconsin law, authorities must respond to records requests “as soon as practicable and without delay.” More than a week after receiving the request for these public records, the Gutiérrez and the Commission has remained entirely silent.
“What exactly happened on the night of August 11? Please provide a step-by-step, timestamped account of the error, from the decision to leave the facility to the discovery that five tabulators had not been exported.”
REP MAXEY’S 8 QUESTIONS
From Assembly Chair Maxey’s Demand for Accountability Following the Aug. 11 Central Count Debacle
1. The Timeline of the Error
2. Breakdown of the Process
“How did this happen? Your office has maintained a checklist since 2020, specifically created after a similar failure, that calls for a single official to extract results from each tabulator while accompanied by other staff. Was that checklist followed on August 11? If not, at what step did the process break down, and who was responsible for enforcing it?”
3. History of Failures
“How many similar errors have occurred at Milwaukee’s central count operation in the last ten years? Please provide a full list, including the 2020 and 2024 incidents, with a description of what corrective action was taken after each one and why those corrective actions failed to prevent this one.“
4. Staff Training
“Was this a training failure? A former city election director has publicly suggested this looks like a training issue. Were the staff who mishandled the five tabulators fully trained and certified on export procedures? What training or supervision changes will you implement before the next election?”
5. Municipal Ballot Volumes
“Which municipalities’ ballots pass through your central count facility, and in what volume? Please break this down by municipality for the August 2026 primary.”
6. Processing Solutions
“Would isolating Milwaukee-specific ballots, or processing by smaller batches, reduce the risk of an error like this one? If not, why not, and what alternative would?”
7. Outside Investigation
“Given the recurring nature of these failures, do you support an independent, outside review of Milwaukee’s central count procedures, including referral to appropriate investigative authorities such as the Wisconsin Elections Commission or, if warranted, the FBI, to ensure the public has full confidence in the findings?”
8. State Assistance
“What can the State of Wisconsin do to help you get this right? If additional resources, equipment, staffing, or statutory changes would meaningfully reduce the risk of future errors, I want specifics, not generalities, so this Committee can act on them.”
